Ignore Asia and its peoples at your peril, report warns

New Zealanders need to learn about Asia or risk a lower standard of living, fewer economic opportunities and a less secure future, a new report warns.

Only a few New Zealanders understood Asia well enough to see the economic opportunities the region presented, the Preparing for a Future with Asia report said.

Most New Zealanders did not speak its languages, understand its cultures, or could distinguish between its more than 20 nations - which contain 60 per cent of the world's population.

"If New Zealand doesn't adapt, the risk is that New Zealanders will miss out on all the benefits of inevitable change and become increasingly marginalised," the Asia New Zealand Foundation-commissioned report said.

"We will risk being overtaken in the economic stakes by other countries that have more successfully diversified and engaged with Asian nations. We will also risk being locked out of regional economic and strategic partnerships and the opportunities they provide to have our say on key issues."

In the 1990s the Prime Minister at the time, Jim Bolger, signalled an increased focus on the region with his widely reported comment that New Zealanders were now all Asians, and the report acknowledged the Government had expanded economic relationships with Asia.

New Zealand had signed closer economic partnership deals with Singapore and Thailand, completed negotiations on a strategic economic partnership involving Brunei, Singapore and Chile, and was negotiating trade deals with the Association of South East Asian Nations, Malaysia, Hong Kong and China.

Half of New Zealand's top 20 merchandise export destinations were in Asia, each year more than 60,000 Asians arrived in New Zealand to study, and Japan, Singapore and Hong Kong were among the top 10 sources of direct foreign investment in New Zealand.

However, New Zealand in general lacked the skills base to take advantage of business opportunities in Asia and most businesses lacked the contacts and networks to compete in Asian markets, the report said.

"Most New Zealand business managers have little understanding of the complexities of Asian markets. Most don't know those markets sufficiently well to identify where and how their business might compete."

Prime Minister Helen Clark said the report's call for many sectors of society to increase the attention they paid to Asia was timely.

"There's little doubt that we are forgoing opportunities in the region."

She said while in general the report painted a rosy picture of New Zealand's image in Asia and its diplomatic and governmental relationships, it showed more work could be done.

"I think the education sector needs be mindful of the need to be forging very strong long-term relationships with Asian counterparts for research and student exchange and joint degrees. And for business it's very important to be there for the long haul because Asia is incredibly important in our future."

The report also had the education system and the media in its sights, saying each should aim to expand their horizons and cover more Asian subjects. "Despite our substantial Asian population and our location within the Asia Pacific region, most New Zealanders do not recognise an Asian component in our national identity," the report said.


NZ AND ASIA

* Asia has 60 per cent of the world's population: more than 3.8 billion people living in more than 20 countries.

* China, Japan and India are in the world's top five economies measured by purchasing power. Korea, Indonesia, Thailand and the Philippines are in the top 25.

* Between 1991 and 2001, the number of New Zealanders of Asian descent more than doubled, from 99,000 to 237,000. By 2021 that number is expected to reach 670,000.

* In 2001, 13.8 per cent of the Auckland region and 10.8 per cent of the Wellington region were of Asian descent.

Source: Preparing for a Future with Asia report

The public give their views on how well NZ is linked with Asia