Auckland lantern festival celebrating the Chinese New Year, the year of the monkey.

Many New Zealanders still know little about Asia and its people despite widespread recognition of the region's economic importance, a new survey says.

An Asia New Zealand Foundation survey - an annual exercise running for two decades - found almost two-thirds of respondents said they knew little or nothing about Asia, despite 80 per cent of those surveyed saying it was important to develop economic and cultural ties.

The region was identified as the second most important to New Zealand, behind Australia.

SIMON MAUDE/FAIRFAX NZ More Polynesians live in Auckland than any other city in the world.

Foundation deputy chair and vice-chancellor of Massey University Steve Maharey​ said New Zealand was not fully engaged with Asia.

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Asia New Zealand Foundation Perceptions of Asia and its people in 2015.

Generalising about farm exports and bus loads of tourists was superficial, he said.

"What we have to have is a much more knowledgeable, well-rounded view of Asia and of Asians in New Zealand than we are currently getting.

"Not just saying that oh well, we get to sell our lamb there and we see bus loads of tourists turning up and that's quite positive.

SUPPLIED / FAIRFAX NZ. Steve Maharey says generalising about farm exports and bus loads of Asian tourists is superficial.

"That's pretty superficial when you think about it.

"It's one of the points the Chinese make…they're a full culture and one of the world's oldest cultures and an incredibly proud nation.

"If we're going to be within the Asian sphere, then treating them as just a trade destination, and 'It's really good they send tourists here', is not full engagement."

123RF Shanghai, China, has a similar population to the entire continent of Australia, about 23 million.

Foundation executive director Simon Draper said the survey showed media coverage played an important role in influencing New Zealanders' views of Asia.

The general trend since the 1990s was increasingly positive towards Asia, but attitudes tended to fluctuate in relation to current affairs, he said.

"The fact that media coverage is so influential shows our understanding of the region hasn't yet caught up to our knowledge of Europe or North America, for instance.

"Fewer of us have done our OEs in Asia, or learnt about the region while we were at school."

There was no doubt that Kiwis knew more about Asia and its people but there was a long way to go to achieve comprehensive understanding.

"What's encouraging to us is that New Zealanders value their personal interactions with Asian people, want to learn more about Asian cultures and have recognised they need to know more about the region.

"The survey confirms that knowledge of Asia and contact with Asian peoples and cultures goes hand in hand with positive feelings about the region as a whole."

Broadly, New Zealanders felt increasingly connected to Asian people and about half of those surveyed reported having a fair amount to do with Asian people and cultures. In 1998, less than one third reported dealing with Asians regularly.

However, one in four people surveyed felt Asian people did not mix well with New Zealanders, although in 2015 fewer people than ever before reported feeling this way compared to previous surveys.

Some respondents were concerned by increased real estate investment from Asia, with almost half of respondents saying there was too much overseas investment and they believed Asian people were responsible for an inflated housing market.

However, direct investment, which does not include housing, is actually dominated by Australia (responsible for $55 billion, or 57 per cent, in 2014), the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom and the Netherlands.

China, Singapore and Japan direct investment in 2014 amounted to 12 per cent, around four per cent from each of the three countries.

Foundation trustee Rob Fyfe said Kiwis were fed a diet of free trade agreements and economic data.

"It's interesting if you flip that on its head.

"When I find myself in Asia, which I do a lot – I've been in Singapore, China, Bangladesh, Hong Kong so far this year – when you talk to people in the street in those countries about New Zealand, they don't talk in those terms at all.

"They talk with wonder about the people, or, if you're in Bangladesh, they want to talk about the cricket. The last time I was in China I was amazed by the number of people who could talk about Queenstown."

For the survey, the foundation conducted 1001 random interviews.

Key findings: