WELLINGTON/AUCKLAND – This week, Premier Li Qiang became the first major Chinese president to visit New Zealand in nearly a decade to indicate the , 10th anniversary of the two factors ‘ Comprehensive Strategic Partnership.
Li, who was welcomed with entire pomp and circumstance, met both , Prime Minister Chris Luxon , in Wellington and , opposition Employment chief Chris Hipkins in Auckland, underscoring the depth of diplomatic relations.  ,
In his presentation of Taiwanese literature, the Chinese leader praised the breadth of diplomatic relations. He also exhibited no signs of social diplomacy.  ,
Even when they are far off,” good friends still feel close to one another,” he said. China and New Zealand have a lengthy history of polite relationships, and our people have developed a friendship based on common understanding, they say.
The Taiwanese premier pressed for an “in-depth discussion on diplomatic relations and issues of shared interest, develop exchanges and cooperation in different fields, and improve the China- New Zealand complete proper partnership,” underscoring diplomatic ties as the “relationship of firsts.
At the same time, “it is natural that we do n’t always see eye- to- eye with each other on everything”, Li told reporters after a closed- door meeting with Luxon. However, these differences should n’t turn into a gap that prevents exchanges and cooperation between us.
New Zealand was the first developed country to engage in free trade negotiations with China, a choice that has brought enormous prosperity to the Pacific region.
Two- way trade , was  , worth , NZ$ 40.31 billion  , ( US$ 24.8 billion ) in 2022, with China receiving close to a third of New Zealand’s total exports. The prosperous Pacific region is one of the few countries to have recently experienced trade surpluses with the Asian superpower.  ,
Li stated without coming home empty-handed that China “has extended unilateral visa-free treatment to his host country” and that New Zealand would be the” country of honor” at a Shanghai trade expo later this year. Additionally, the two parties discussed infrastructure investment agreements.  ,
Despite the largely cordial exchanges and messages, New Zealand-China ties have grown increasingly strained in recent years as a result of intensifying great power rivalry in the Indo-Pacific.
Human rights have been a contentious issue, with the , New Zealand parliament passing a motion expressing grave concern about , China’s treatment of Uyghur Muslims , in 2021.  ,
Rival protesters , clashed in both Wellington and Auckland during Li’s visit, underscoring growing tensions over China’s human rights record.  ,
Luxon claimed that the meeting brought attention to contentious topics like rising tensions in the South China Sea and foreign interference.
” I raised with Premier Li a number of issues that are important to New Zealanders and which speak to our core values, including human rights and , foreign , interference”, Luxon said.
Authorities in New Zealand have been concerned about Chinese , influence operations that target well-known figures and Chinese dissidents in the country. Earlier this year,  , Wellington also accused China of engaging , in a cyberattack campaign on New Zealand’s parliament years earlier.
The biggest sticking point in bilateral ties, however, is Wellington’s potential plan to join the Australia- UK- US ( AUKUS) security partnership. New Zealand, which has one of the largest coastlines in the world and exclusive economic zones ( EEZs ), has limited resources to stand alone in an increasingly uncertain geostrategic environment, according to AUKUS supporters.  ,
For them, New Zealand should stop “free- riding” on its more powerful partners, particularly Australia and America, and instead more proactively contribute to a US- led “integrated deterrence” strategy to check China’s ambitions in the region.
Critics, however, maintain that New Zealand could end up undermining its “independent” foreign policy and can ill- afford to engage in a massive defense buildup that could spark potential Chinese reprisals.
Earlier,  , China’s Ambassador to New Zealand , Wang Xiaolong , warned against any move that would be , akin to” taking sides”, which he suggested could torpedo otherwise robust bilateral ties.
The Chinese envoy has said that bilateral relations are at a ,” critical juncture” while insisting that” China is not a threat to New Zealand, rather, as has been pointed out by both the Prime Minister]Christopher Luxon ] and]Trade ] Minister]Todd ] McClay, China represents for New Zealand an opportunity and a mutually beneficial partner”.
Wellington policymakers and pundits frequently mention a “foreign policy reset,” referring to the previous Labour government’s more supposedly Beijing-friendly attitude under Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern in contrast to Luxon’s conservative government’s more Sino-skeptic stance.  ,
In contrast to neighboring Australia, the Ardern administration signed up to China’s Belt and Road Initiative ( BRI), steered clear of AUKUS and other US- led security initiatives aimed at China and proudly touted New Zealand’s “independent” foreign policy.  ,
Nevertheless, even the Labour government took a , nuanced yet increasingly critical , stance on China. In a statement from the Ardern government in 2018, the government made a strategic defense policy statement that blatantly identified China as a” threat” to the international rules-based order.
In a thinly veiled response to growing concerns over Beijing’s influence operations, New Zealand passed legislation the following year that prohibits all foreign donations over NZ$ 50 to New Zealand political actors.  ,
China’s expanding strategic presence in the South Pacific has added to New Zealand’s concern for security, which publicly denounced a contentious security agreement signed by Beijing and the Solomon Islands in 2022.
Nanaia Mahuta, the former minister of foreign affairs, has also expressed concern about China’s use of economic coercion as a tool for foreign policy, particularly given that Beijing has imposed trade restrictions on neighboring Australia after Canberra demanded an international investigation into China’s possible role in Covid’s origin.
She praised New Zealand’s crucial role and robust security cooperation with Washington and Canberra, particularly in its and fellow Anglophone democracies ‘ Five Eyes intelligence-sharing relationship with fellow Anglophone democracies, but insisted on a more multilateralist approach that “includes dialogue, which ensures we build multilateral support for the things we advocate on that will protect our values and our interests.”
Under Luxon’s government, however, New Zealand has expressed growing openness to joining AUKUS, albeit on a more limited, calibrated basis than Australia. Due to its , non- nuclear security policy rules, Wellington ca n’t get involved in any direct participation in the AUKUS nuclear- powered submarine project.
But it can, under AUKUS Pillar II, engage in the sharing of state- of- the- art defense technologies, especially in areas of cyber- warfare, artificial intelligence and hypersonic missile development. The Biden administration welcomed New Zealand to Pillar II of AUKUS last year, which immediately sounded the alarm in China.  ,
China has expressed” strong concerns” about any potential New Zealand involvement in AUKUS, claiming that Wellington’s current non-nuclear policy would only serve and support nuclear-related military cooperation under the second pillar and that the initiative is an aggressive US-led alliance aimed at containing China.  ,
The current government may face a difficult sell, in terms of domestic politics, in attributing this largely to China, according to the New Zealand expert Robert Patman.
Critics point out that China’s assertiveness is just one of the many threats facing the multilateral system, which New Zealand and many other small and middle powers rely on, aside from the potential economic consequences of such a move, Patman said.
However, other security experts in New Zealand, like Sakura Gregory , think working with AUKUS is in line with the country’s foreign policy because it does n’t involve the development of nuclear weapons.
It’s” about recognizing and sharing the burden” that would have to be done to better deter Chinese military development and potential escalation, which has largely gone unchecked in the Pacific over the past few decades,” Gregory said.  ,
The Luxon government has tried to strike a balance by maintaining a degree of strategic ambiguity while focusing on purely bilateral concerns during Premier Li’s visit while facing criticism from the opposition for AUKUS-related criticism.  ,
” We canvassed AUKUS and they raised their concerns. And, as you know, we raised a number of issues and differing viewpoints, Luxon said, underscoring the need for firm economic relations with China and robust economic engagement.
Follow Richard Javad Heydarian on X at @Richeydarian