Prime Minister Christopher Luxon welcomed Premier Li Qiang to Wellington on Thursday for the first high-level visit from the Chinese government since 2017.
The head of government was here to mark the tenth anniversary of New Zealand China Comprehensive Strategic Partnership which was signed by John Key in 2014.
However, the relationship between China and New Zealand has cooled considerably since Luxon’s predecessor inked the agreement which even included military cooperation.
The idea of Kiwi troops training alongside the People's Liberation Army doesn’t seem plausible today and other elements of the agreement have also fallen by the wayside.
For example, there hasn’t been much progress on a commitment to deepen contacts between all levels of Government and political parties.
A Stuff documentary, which investigated alleged Chinese interference in New Zealand and was released to coincide with Li’s visit on Thursday, might help explain why.
Even the trading relationship has begun to run out of steam. Growth in the value of goods exported to China stalled in 2021 and dropped 8% in the year ended March.
The United States has taken over as the fastest growing export destination during the past five years and it now sits just behind Australia as our third largest customer.
There is still a big gap between the $8.5 billion dollars of goods Americans bought and the $18.4 billion, or 27% of goods exports, that Chinese consumers bought — but it is closing.
Exports to the United Kingdom and Canada also grew during the year, although they are not such significant trading partners at just $1.5 billion and $900 million respectively.
All this might suggest that government efforts to diversify trade have been working.
Who’s boss?
The sea change driving the cooler relationship has been China’s transformation from an emerging economy, and useful trade partner, into a global superpower with bigger ambitions.
Luxon told guests at the China Business Summit that as China’s power and influence had grown, so had the areas of difference which had to be navigated.
These differences range from territorial disputes over Taiwan or the South China Sea, to fears the superpower is using its economic heft to distort markets and coerce smaller countries.
Australia’s nuclear submarine pact with the US and the United Kingdom, AUKUS, was established largely to make sure China cannot overpower Western countries in the Pacific.
New Zealand has been considering joining an undefined second tier of this military agreement but China has suggested that would not be received warmly.
Luxon told reporters that his conversation with Li on Thursday included discussion about AUKUS, as well as broader security concerns such as Taiwan, Ukraine, and Gaza.
He also said he’d encouraged China, and other major powers, to use the Pacific Islands Forum to engage with the region as a whole — instead of making unilateral arrangements.
Trade on through
The New Zealand Prime Minister's remarks at a joint press statement were more focused on trade as that is one element of the relationship his Government is still keen to expand.
He said China and NZ had shared a “significant and successful economic relationship” with goods, education, and tourism exchanges benefiting both countries.
“New Zealand has much to offer China and a source of high quality food and innovative products and services that can boost productivity,” he said.
Premier Li agreed that it was important to expand trade and invited NZ to be a guest of honor at the China Import Expo in Shanghai this year.
But he finished his remarks with a request to not let various “differences” get in the way of the two countries' relationship.
“Given our different national realities and stages of development, it is natural that we don’t always see eye to eye with each other on everything,” he said, according to a translator.
“But such differences should not become a chasm that blocks exchanges and cooperation between us. Instead it should be a driving force for us to learn from each other and grow together.”
New Zealand and China should “seek common ground” and “harmony instead of uniformity”, he said.
37 Comments
Characterising China as a dictatorship is absurdly simplistic but I guess it appeals to the ones who want to start a war over Taiwan. NZ can tie its boat to a sinking/splitting USA all it wants - but China is the economic and technological engine of the 21st Century.
The crown Lynn manufacturing and brand ended up in Malaysia.
Someone should tell Luxon to stop putting his hands on visiting dignitaries . It’s offensive and condescending to the visitor . He is not a pastor of some new age whacko church meeting a fellow brainwashed disciple ….Oops. That’s right , he is a member of a new age whacko church with brainwashed disciples.😊
What's India up to?
Going forward, Indian diplomacy will be more Russia-centric than ever before in this century — contrary to an entrenched domestic opinion that its manifest destiny is as a ‘counterweight’ to China, and a cog in the wheel of Washington’s Indo-Pacific ... Link
Russia to Export Coal to India Via Iran. It’s a 4 Alarm Bells Fire
An improper congratulatory message. In third person, not direct. Has a sting in it. Insidiously brings in Nijjar affair & issues of human rights & lack of respect for diversity under Modi govt. No reason to otherwise mention “human rights, diversity, and the rule of law”. Has effrontery to send such a message. Link
From the Herald
Li also said New Zealand would be the country of honour at a Shanghai trade expo later this year, and that China stood ready to increase infrastructure investment in New Zealand.
Luxon, at a solo press conference, said he was “country-agnostic” on foreign investment as long as it passed a national interest test.
“We know we have a big infrastructure deficit,” he said.
“We know that foreign capital will be important for us to build that infrastructure out.
China has the skills and scale to fix our infrastructure deficit in say a decade. No one else comes close.
We would just need some skilled leaders to negotiate an ownership, construction and usage fees arrangement that New Zealander could feel comfortable with. It would give our local companies a wakeup call.
Have you seen modern Chinese infrastructure building? It's insane, I would hope anyone would consider that an option. It will be the cheapest too.
It would be a massive political decision and would need the whole government behind it. The US and Australia would spit the dummy the moment they got news of it. We would get full "red scare" propaganda in the media.
I would think Luxon being of the Key NZ Inc would be fully in favour of it but may not be willing to take the risk when the opponents push back.
hmmmm, i see Europe and the USA are pushing hard against China on trade at the moment and the USA is trying to decouple its supply chain and even prepping for a potential war with them as soon as 2027... whilst the smart kiwis are keen to build much closer relationships.
Another great example of our strategic thinking, in a few years this decision will rank highly on why our economy is s a mess - alongside exporting our young talent, importing unskilled labour and building a economy based mainly on cheap credit and building wooden houses.
Europe and USA are pushing back against the largest and increasingly wealthy demographic of middle class consumers in the entire world.
Think about this for just a moment, how do you think this is going to work for European companies and suppliers? Politicians knee capping their own economies at the behest of US hegemony doesn't scream "pursuit of national interest" to me.
The issue isn't economic but freedom.. which is more important.
The question will be would u wish to be controlled by a dictator and have some money in the short term (if they allow u to have that money). or be free and have less money.. ditto what u want for ur kids. By putting trade with a dictatorship before morals that's what will happen.
By decoupling .. and in the short term western economies will struggle but in the medium to long term they will win.
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