New Zealand’s Foreign Affairs Minister Nanaia Mahuta will travel to China Tuesday to meet with Foreign Minister, Qin Gang, in Beijing.
It will be the first visit by a NZ minister to China since before the Covid-19 pandemic.
Mahuta said the diplomatic relationship between the two countries, which began 50 years ago, was “one of our most important, complex and wide ranging”.
“China is integral to New Zealand’s economic recovery but our relationship is far broader - spanning cultural, educational and sporting links,” she said in a statement.
Mahuta said she would discuss areas of cooperation – such as trade, environmental issues – as well as advocate on issues that reflect NZ’s values.
“I also intend to raise New Zealand’s concerns about key regional and global security challenges, including the illegal Russian invasion of Ukraine”.
Mahuta will also meet with business leaders and hold a breakfast roundtable with women leaders during her two day visit to the Chinese capital.
Charles Finny, a former diplomat who is now partner at the government relations consultancy Saunders Unsworth, welcomed the news of a high-level meeting with China.
Having a face-to-face meeting demonstrates the atmosphere between the two countries was good and helped give local businesses confidence in the trading relationship, Finny said.
The timing would allow NZ to voice its opposition to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine while Xi Jinping was meeting with Vladimir Putin in Moscow.
“It would be remiss to not express our concern about what Russia has done and Russian actions,” Finny said.
For its part, China will be interested to hear NZ’s views on the new Aukus partnership which will see Australia buy nuclear-power submarines from the US and the UK.
The superpower will likely signal support for NZ's independent foreign policy, which was cemented by a 1984 ban on nuclear-powered vessels entering our waters.
David Capie, director of the Centre for Strategic Studies and Professor of International Relations, said Mahuta’s focus would be on reestablishing a face-to-face relationship with the Chinese government.
“I don’t think there will be any big new initiatives launched. I think the visit is the outcome in that sense.”
China’s relationship with NZ’s closest partners has become much more difficult in recent years, and has created more friction in the bi-lateral relationship.
“There’s longstanding issues like human rights, Hong Kong, cross-Straits relations, but now we can add to that foreign interference, and technology issues like the recent decision on TikTok”.
Parliamentary Services announced last week that the social media app must be removed from any parliament-issued phone – as did the US and UK – prompting criticism from China.
“One test for the visit will be to see if the Minister can find a way to express NZ’s desire to have a positive and constructive relationship with Beijing, while also facing up to the growing number of areas where New Zealand and China have real differences”.
Finny said Mahuta’s visit will hopefully be a precursor to the NZ Prime Minister visiting Beijing later in the year.
The Chinese diplomatic system generally requires a series of visits moving up the seniority ranks. Having Mahuta meet with China’s foreign minister, Qin Gang, could clear the path for Chris Hipkins to travel later in the year.
23 Comments
Hope the minister will have a good time in Beijing. It is a beautiful spring season to visit Beijing. She can visit lots of places, have lots of fun, and buy heaps stuff during the trip.
There will be at least three flagship smartphones released during her visit. And those ones are not available in NZ.
Recall on the outset of acquiring this important portfolio Minister Mahuta proclaimed she intended to bring a Maori perspective to the role as being representative of her people. Perhaps she could then take time to visit the Uyghur people in their region and circumstances and explain to them, in fellow Minister Jackson’s candid vernacular, that they really have nothing to worry about in comparison to the plight of her and his people?
There is a difference between concentration camps, forced sterilization, organ removal and forced worked aka slavery versus colonialism. If you are unaware of the difference please educate yourself in the term genocide and historical examples (typically done between those who would be classed as the same ethnicity in today's census). Calling it colonialism is entirely minimizing, miscategorizing, dismissive and continues the erasure of their plight.
Yes it’s worse and I know that well
But you are the one who needs to educate yourself. Some very nasty things were done during colonial times, perhaps NZ wasn’t as bad as some others (many examples but it’s hard to go past Belgium and Germany in Africa for horrendous acts) but still…
Anyhow, the point still stands about a repressed minority and the parallels
For its part, China will be interested to hear NZ’s views on the new Aukus partnership which will see Australia buy nuclear-power submarines from the US and the UK.
Indeed - it would be disastrous for NZ to get caught up in this level of potential cost - listen here.
Last week Paul Keating spelled out exactly (in his own inimitable way) what the Oz Govt has done wrong in abrogating their sovereignty & how the mainstream media have been fully complicit in it (note ~1hr interview) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VmgxAoa1n-8
Certainly good at abrogating their sovereignty. Case in point Darwin, Australia’s most strategic port geographically, under the control of China and/or the CCP. Have often admired Keating’s ability to get a lot said in a few words. But here, he is out of date and plain wrong. He is overlaying WW2 history on a completely different war scenario. The subs are not intended to intercept and sink some vast armada. Satellite surveillance and on, would see that not get much past Japan. Certainly not Honolulu, Guam or Midway. The subs are a retaliatory force. In WW2 the Wehrmacht supported by the Luftwaffe assailed and overpowered the unprepared opposing forces with Blitzkreig. Later the Japanese employed much the same rapid deployment, except in jungles. The success was achieved because, let’s call them the allies, were taken by surprise, thrown on the defensive without any ability to significantly counter strike. Unless you include nuisance raids like RAF light bombers and the US Doolittle raid. Any massive forthcoming conflict nowadays will essentially be missile led. Hence the USA and allies about 100 nuke powered subs able to strike, unlocatable from deep water anytime, anywhere. That is Australia’s strategy and it goes way back to when President Eisenhower ordered the nuclear deterrent in the USA defence to be transferred from General Le May’s cherished SAC to the nuke submarine fleet.
What a furking crock of crap..
While a dopey Mahuta is in China their president is over in Moscow supporting Putin.
If Mahuta even discusses The Ukraine invasion It will be a slap on the wrist with wet loo paper.
Why doesn't these labour Legends actually make a stand and ban Chinese imports and stop exporting to assholes!.. and tell the world to do the same!!!.. and thus squeeze the Chinese into bankruptcy and then they will tell Pootin to EFF off!
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