The Chinese Ambassador to New Zealand has warned against a "democracies versus autocracies" view of the world and that countries grouping up into "exclusive circles" could be a "dangerous slippery slope to unmitigated disasters".
Wang Xiaolong's comments came in a speech he gave this week to the New Zealand-China Council, in which the Ambassador also said that "all is not rosy" between China and New Zealand.
In an apparent reference to Russia's invasion of Ukraine, which Moscow has attempted to justify by pointing to Ukraine's desire to join the NATO military alliance, Wang said "military blocs" don't "prevent conflicts from breaking out".
"There will not be resolution to the current situation if one side attempts to triumph over the other on the battlefield. The only way out will be mutual compromise and accommodation, which can only be found at the negotiating table."
Wang said framing the world "as democracies versus autocracies is wrongheaded and dangerous" and a "sure recipe for at least relapsing into the Cold War-era".
It also comes amid a renewed focus on the Pacific, which Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi has been visiting in recent days attempting to secure security and economic agreements with island nations.
When Beijing signed a security cooperation agreement with the Solomon Islands earlier this year, there was a swift response from western nations, like New Zealand, Australia and the United States, which opposed the agreement. They said security matters should be dealt with inside the existing Pacific Islands Forum network.
It later emerged that China was seeking a region-wide agreement, which the President of the Federated States of Micronesia (FSM), David Panuelo, said could lead to a new "Cold War" between western nations and China. Pacific nations ended up rejecting the deal.
In his speech on Tuesday, Wang Xiaolong said China believes multilateralism centred on the United Nations "is still our best collective choice".
The role of the United Nations has been in question this year after Russia, as a permanent member of the Security Council, was able to veto resolutions related to its invasion of Ukraine. China abstained on several of the UN votes. New Zealand has been among the countries calling for reform, something Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern raised in her meeting last week with UN Secretary-General António Guterres.
Wang Xiaolong told the NZ China Council on Tuesday that it goes against "the spirit of multilateralism to practice bloc politics, establish exclusive circles or create and deepen ideological, systemic or even so-called civilisational faultlines".
"As a matter of fact, it could be a dangerous slippery slope to unmitigated disasters," he said.
One bloc of countries China has long rallied against is the Five Eyes intelligence-sharing group, which New Zealand is a member of alongside Australia, Canada, the United Kingdom and the United States.
The Five Eyes has released statements in the past condemning China's human rights abuses in Xinjiang as well as anti-democratic actions in Hong Kong. Many of those statements have been received with fury by the Chinese.
Last year, when New Zealand Foreign Minister Nanaia Mahuta said she was "uncomfortable" with expanding the Five Eyes remit to beyond intelligence matters, she said New Zealand "would much rather prefer to look for multilateral opportunities".
Other groupings to be criticised by China include the Quad and AUKUS. In May, when the United States unveiled its Indo-Pacific Economic Framework - which New Zealand has signed up to, but from which China has been excluded - Beijing said it was only created to serve US interests.
The rest of Wang Xiaolong's speech focused on the relationship between China and New Zealand, with the Ambassador pointing out the two countries' strong economic and person-to-person links.
"All is not rosy, however. Indeed, the relationship has got its fair share of challenges, the foremost of which is the way we address the differences between us," he said.
"It is no surprise, nor any secret that some of these differences are inevitable, given the divergence between us in historical and cultural backgrounds and levels of economic development."
Wang said New Zealand is a "green, clean, open and friendly country".
"This very positive national branding is one of the most valuable assets of our relationship, and arguably the most potent marketing tool for all products and services from NZ. And a mutually positive public opinion is arguably the strongest of all pillars for the edifice of this important relationship.
"We have to keep in mind, though, that this asset of ours did not come out of nowhere or as a matter of course, but has been slowly built up with hard work over the years from both sides. Nor can it be taken for granted."
He said the key question was how the countries' differences were handled. The New Zealand Government has previously said it wants a "mature" relationship with China, where differences are acknowledged but don't define the relationship.
Mahuta last year compared the relationship to that between a taniwha and a dragon.
"[They're] symbols of the strength of our particular customs, traditions and values, that aren't always the same, but need to be maintained and respected. And on that virtue we have together developed the mature relationship we have today."
Wang Xiaolong this week said the two countries should not interfere in each other's internal affairs.
After New Zealand and the United States on Wednesday reiterated their "grave concerns" about abuses in Xinjiang and Hong Kong in a joint statement, the Chinese Foreign Ministry hit back saying it smears China and interferes in its internal affairs.
