Where will the Perceptions of Asia 2026 Report Launch take place?

The report launch will be held in Auckland, NZL.

What is the primary focus of this event?

The event focuses on the launch of the Perceptions of Asia 2026 Report, which details contemporary views on Asia.

Who would benefit from attending this report launch?

Policymakers, business leaders, academics, and anyone interested in international relations and Asian affairs would benefit from attending this event in Auckland.

Perceptions of Asia 2026 Report Launch - Auckland

Name: Perceptions of Asia 2026 Report Launch - Auckland
Start: 2026-06-23T00:00:00Z
End: 2026-06-23T00:00:00Z
Location: Auckland

Jun 23, 2026Auckland, New ZealandIn-person

Registration open

The "Perceptions of Asia 2026 Report Launch" in Auckland, NZL, marks a significant event for understanding contemporary views on Asia. This launch serves as a platform to disseminate findings from a comprehensive report, offering insights into how the Asian region is perceived by various audiences. The event in Auckland provides a localized yet globally relevant perspective on these perceptions, emphasizing the importance of informed engagement with Asia.

Committees & topics

Topics
Global Issues: New Zealand, Asia, and the Shifting Indo-Pacific Order · International Affairs: New Zealand's Place in a Contested Indo-Pacific · Diplomacy: Practising Statecraft with Asia from Wellington

Why it matters

Understanding perceptions of Asia is crucial for effective international relations, economic partnerships, and cultural exchange. These perceptions, whether accurate or not, shape policy decisions, investment flows, and public opinion, directly impacting diplomatic efforts and collaborative initiatives. The report's findings can illuminate areas of misunderstanding or opportunity, guiding stakeholders in refining their strategies for engagement.

For policymakers, businesses, and academic institutions, the report offers a data-driven foundation for strategic planning. It allows for a more nuanced approach to engagement, moving beyond generalized assumptions to address specific challenges and leverage unique strengths within the diverse Asian context. This event, therefore, is not merely a presentation of data but an invitation to critically assess and adapt current approaches to Asian affairs.

The launch in Auckland underscores the particular relevance of these perceptions to countries in Oceania, highlighting the interconnectedness of regional dynamics. The insights gained can inform how countries like NZL navigate their relationships with Asian nations, fostering greater understanding and cooperation. It provides a valuable opportunity for dialogue and reflection on the evolving landscape of international perceptions.

How to prepare

Delegates preparing for this event should focus on understanding the methodologies behind perception studies and their implications for policy and public discourse. Familiarity with the concept of Dynamic Analysis will be beneficial, as perceptions are fluid and subject to change based on geopolitical shifts and cultural exchanges. Consider how different national interests might influence the interpretation of the report's findings.

Engaging with the report's findings requires a critical perspective on What Is Stakeholder Mapping? and identifying Hidden Stakeholders. Understanding who holds particular perceptions and why is key to developing effective Engagement Strategies. Participants should be prepared to discuss how these perceptions might impact bilateral and multilateral relations, particularly concerning trade, security, and cultural diplomacy.

Furthermore, consider the implications of these perceptions on broader international frameworks. How might the report's insights influence discussions on regional stability, economic integration, or climate cooperation? Preparing questions that delve into the practical applications of the report's findings will maximize the value of attending this launch.

Country perspectives

Where the most-relevant 3 countries stand on the core issues in play. Click through for the full country profile.

New Zealand

As the host nation, NZL is keen to understand evolving perceptions of Asia to inform its foreign policy and economic engagement strategies.

Role in topic

NZL, situated in Oceania, has significant economic and cultural ties with various Asian countries. The report launch in Auckland is particularly relevant for NZL to assess and adapt its approach to these relationships, ensuring its policies are aligned with contemporary realities and perceptions.

Australia

AUS shares similar regional interests with NZL and will likely view the report's findings through the lens of its own engagement with Asia.

Role in topic

Sharing a close geographical and geopolitical proximity with NZL, AUS's perspective on Asia is often intertwined with its regional security and economic prosperity. The report's insights could inform AUS's diplomatic efforts and public diplomacy initiatives aimed at shaping or responding to perceptions of Asian nations.

United States

The USA maintains a significant presence and strategic interest in the Indo-Pacific, making perceptions of Asia crucial for its regional alliances and influence.

Role in topic

The USA's strategic pivot to Asia means that understanding how Asia is perceived, both internally and externally, is vital for its foreign policy objectives, including alliance management and economic partnerships. The report could offer valuable data points for US diplomatic and strategic planning in the region.

Topics & background

The background behind each topic and the actors that shape it.

Global Issues: New Zealand, Asia, and the Shifting Indo-Pacific Order

New Zealand's engagement with Asia has deepened steadily since the 1970s, when the United Kingdom's accession to the European Economic Community forced Wellington to diversify its trade away from traditional Commonwealth partners. Successive governments pursued closer ties with East and Southeast Asia, culminating in landmark agreements such as the 2008 New Zealand-China Free Trade Agreement (the first FTA China signed with a developed economy), the ASEAN-Australia-New Zealand FTA (AANZFTA), and membership in the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) and the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP). The Asia New Zealand Foundation's annual Perceptions of Asia survey has tracked public attitudes since 1997, providing a barometer of how New Zealanders view a region that now accounts for the majority of their exports, foreign students, and tourist arrivals. The contemporary picture is more contested. Strategic competition between the United States and China, maritime tensions in the South China Sea and Taiwan Strait, North Korea's nuclear program, and instability in Myanmar have complicated New Zealand's traditional posture of pragmatic, trade-led engagement. Domestic debates have sharpened around foreign interference, supply-chain resilience, climate cooperation with Pacific and Asian neighbours, and the implications of AUKUS Pillar Two for a country that prizes its independent foreign policy and nuclear-free status. Public perceptions, as captured in successive Perceptions of Asia reports, show growing familiarity with Asian cultures alongside rising anxieties about security and economic dependence. The 2026 report launch invites discussion of how New Zealand should calibrate its Asia strategy: maintaining open trade with China, deepening ties with India, Japan, South Korea, and ASEAN, and reconciling economic interests with values-based diplomacy on human rights, climate, and the rules-based order.

Key players

International Affairs: New Zealand's Place in a Contested Indo-Pacific

New Zealand's international affairs posture has historically rested on three pillars: multilateralism through the United Nations, alliance ties anchored in the ANZUS tradition and Five Eyes intelligence partnership, and an independent foreign policy symbolised by the 1987 nuclear-free legislation. Engagement with Asia has been the most dynamic dimension of this posture in recent decades, with the region absorbing the bulk of New Zealand's goods exports and shaping its demographic and educational landscape. Wellington has been an active participant in ASEAN-led architectures, including the East Asia Summit and ASEAN Regional Forum, and a consistent advocate for open trade and small-state interests. Today that framework faces sustained pressure. US-China rivalry has spilled into technology, infrastructure, and standards-setting; the war in Ukraine has reverberated through energy and food markets in Asia; and tensions across the Taiwan Strait, the Korean Peninsula, and Myanmar challenge regional stability. New Zealand has joined coordinated statements on Xinjiang, Hong Kong, and freedom of navigation, while also resisting full alignment with bloc politics. Successive Perceptions of Asia surveys show that New Zealanders increasingly distinguish between economic opportunity and security risk when assessing Asian partners, and that public warmth is highest toward Japan, Singapore, and South Korea, with more ambivalence toward China. The report launch frames a debate over how a small, trade-dependent democracy can preserve strategic autonomy, contribute meaningfully to regional order, and align public sentiment with foreign policy choices across trade, security, climate, and human rights.

Key players

Diplomacy: Practising Statecraft with Asia from Wellington

New Zealand's diplomatic practice toward Asia has evolved from Cold War-era distance to one of the most Asia-integrated foreign services in the OECD. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade has expanded its network of posts across East, Southeast, and South Asia, and Wellington has built a reputation as an early mover on trade agreements, having signed the first comprehensive FTA between a developed economy and China in 2008, upgrading that agreement in 2022, and concluding the New Zealand-EU FTA and the New Zealand-UK FTA in parallel with deeper ASEAN, Korean, and Indian engagement. Track-two diplomacy, the Asia New Zealand Foundation's leadership and media programmes, and a substantial Asian-heritage population have broadened the base of expertise beyond government. Contemporary diplomacy with Asia is increasingly multidimensional. Climate cooperation with Pacific and Southeast Asian neighbours, Antarctic and ocean governance, cyber norms, sanctions coordination after Russia's invasion of Ukraine, consular crises from Afghanistan to Myanmar, and the management of dual-use technology controls all demand sophisticated statecraft. New Zealand has also had to navigate moments of diplomatic friction, including disagreements with Beijing over Five Eyes statements and with partners over the scope of AUKUS Pillar Two engagement, while sustaining people-to-people ties through education, tourism, and diaspora communities. The report launch invites delegates to examine how diplomatic tools, public diplomacy, economic statecraft, development assistance, and coalition-building can be deployed to advance New Zealand's interests and values in an Asia that is simultaneously its greatest opportunity and its most complex strategic environment.

Key players

Resources

News, lessons, and country profiles to prep for Perceptions of Asia 2026 Report Launch - Auckland.

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Lessons

Bite-sized lessons to build the basics

Hidden Stakeholders

Engagement Strategies

Dynamic Analysis

Stakeholder Mapping Workshop

Courses

Guided courses that go deeper on the topic

Multilateral Negotiation

Advanced Negotiation

Policy Brief Writing

Conflict Resolution

The states in play, with the data that shapes their stance

Country dossier

Country dossier

Country dossier

Country dossier

Country dossier

Country dossier

Country dossier

Country dossier

Country dossier

New Zealand June 2026

By committee

Frequently asked questions

Perceptions of Asia 2026 Report Launch - Auckland

Jun 23, 2026Auckland, New ZealandIn-person

Registration open

Committees & topics

Topics
Global Issues: New Zealand, Asia, and the Shifting Indo-Pacific Order · International Affairs: New Zealand's Place in a Contested Indo-Pacific · Diplomacy: Practising Statecraft with Asia from Wellington

Why it matters

How to prepare

Country perspectives

Where the most-relevant 3 countries stand on the core issues in play. Click through for the full country profile.

New Zealand

As the host nation, NZL is keen to understand evolving perceptions of Asia to inform its foreign policy and economic engagement strategies.

Role in topic

Australia

AUS shares similar regional interests with NZL and will likely view the report's findings through the lens of its own engagement with Asia.

Role in topic

United States

The USA maintains a significant presence and strategic interest in the Indo-Pacific, making perceptions of Asia crucial for its regional alliances and influence.

Role in topic