Survey participants may have been more apprehensive about China than last year, but also ranked the country the second most important for NZ to develop its relationship with.
Photo: 123RF
The Asia New Zealand Foundation survey of more than 1100 people found just 13 percent of those questioned saw China as a friend, a record low for the poll.
Of respondents, 58 percent said they saw the country as a threat, a big jump from last year's 37 percent.
For the first time, the foundation asked about the level of trust in major powers; only 10 percent of respondents thought China would act responsibly in the world.
Executive director Simon Draper said a key question was whether this was a long-lasting view of China.
The poll was commissioned to supplement the foundation's just released 2021 data and was in response to events in Europe and recent media coverage of Beijing's recent presence in the Pacific.
"When you ask New Zealanders, what is Asia? China comes up really predominantly. So if New Zealanders are feeling really apprehensive about China, we worry that sort of bleeds into wider Asia as well," Draper said.
"Australians say they worry about China and say they have to diversify and find a plan B. What New Zealanders are saying is that they sort of worry about China but therefore we have to understand it more".
However, China was not the only major nation viewed negatively.
Russia was seen as a threatening country by 79 percent, an increase from 45 percent from last year, with only 3 percent viewing the country as a friend.
North Korea was seen as a threatening nation by 75 percent of respondents, compared to 64 percent last year.
Despite the findings, there was still a sense that investing in the China-New Zealand relationship was important.
When asked which countries New Zealand should develop its relationship with, China ranked second because of trade and economic opportunities.
The survey also shows New Zealanders are increasingly concerned about cyberattacks and misinformation campaigns by other countries.
The Asia-New Zealand Foundation survey found 53 percent of participants were highly concerned about foreign cyberattacks and fake news.
This ranked slightly higher than climate change at 51 percent. The potential impacts of terrorism and violent extremism were the next concerns.
The Asia New Zealand Foundation has carried out the survey for 25 years.