Foreign Affairs Minister Nanaia Mahuta has met with Chinese representatives just hours after a senior Beijing official served New Zealand a lashing over a joint statement with the United States.
The joint statement, released publicly following Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern's visit to the White House to meet US President Joe Biden on Wednesday morning, raised concerns about China's actions in Xinjiang, the South China Sea and Hong Kong.
But it angered China, with state-run media outlet the Global Times saying it contained "gangster logic" and accusing New Zealand of parroting "anti-China rhetoric". The Chinese reaction is getting global attention, with one Australian newspaper describing it as an "unprecedented dressing down".
Mahuta told reporters that she met with the Chinese Ambassador to New Zealand Wang Xiaolong on Thursday morning. The prearranged, in-person meeting was one of four she's had with foreign diplomats this week.
"It was a meet and greet, the first opportunity that we've had to meet each other," Mahuta said.
"It was a very general discussion to the extent that was the first meeting, an opportunity to get to know one another. He signalled a range of things that he is interested in and so did I."
A Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (MFAT) readout of the meeting says Mahuta emphasised "the importance of maintaining an open and constructive dialogue both in areas of cooperation and areas of difference".
"In this regard, the Minister referred to Aotearoa New Zealand’s values-based foreign policy, which included a strong focus on open democracy, human rights, and international rules and norms."
Mahuta also raised New Zealand's concerns about China's recent security cooperation agreement with the Solomon Islands.
She was repeatedly asked by media on Thursday if the joint statement was raised during the meeting.
"A range of things were commented on, but not in any particular detail," she said.
But was the statement brought up?
"Not significantly, actually, no. The meeting was so short. It was a meet and greet meeting. It canvased a range of issues in relation to the Pacific, the bilateral relationship, the fact we are recognising 50 years of a relationship with China. New Zealand had a number of firsts, the free trade agreement, things like that."
New Zealand's joint statement with the US referred to the two nations' concerns about China's actions in Xinjiang, the South China Sea and Hong Kong.
It also noted both New Zealand and the United States' opposition to the security cooperation agreement recently signed between China and the Solomon Islands. While the full deal hasn't been released publicly, a leaked draft version suggested Beijing could establish a naval base in the Solomons, something Honiara has since said will not happen.
"In particular, the United States and New Zealand share a concern that the establishment of a persistent military presence in the Pacific by a state that does not share our values or security interests would fundamentally alter the strategic balance of the region and pose national-security concerns to both our countries," one part of the lengthy NZ/US statement said.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian late on Wednesday night said the joint statement "smears" China and that concerns over the Solomons deal were unnecessary.
"The security cooperation does not target any third party, nor does it intend to establish a military base," he said. "The hype-up of relevant issues in the joint statement by the US and New Zealand is out of ulterior motives to create disinformation and attack and discredit China."
Zhao called on the countries to "stop interfering in China's internal affairs and stop slandering and discrediting China".
"We hope New Zealand will adhere to its independent foreign policy and do more to enhance security and mutual trust among regional countries and safeguard regional peace and stability."
The NZ/US statement says "security and defence will become an ever-more-important focus of our strategic partnership" and the countries have "deepening ties".
"As the security environment in the Indo-Pacific evolves, so must our defence cooperation."
Asked if that risks affecting New Zealand's independent policy, Mahuta said Aotearoa's position "is very much based on our own values and interests" and that the country upholds an "independent foreign policy".
New Zealand welcomes all partners showing interest in the Pacific, Mahuta said, but they need to recognise the critical issues in the region are climate change and economic resilience. She said the way forward is with Pacific-led solutions.
Suggesting New Zealand was on its way to becoming a full military ally with the US was "reading a lot into that particular statement", Mahuta said.
"There is not an indication that that's the case."
The acting Prime Minister, Grant Robertson, doesn't expect any trade repercussions from China over the statement.
"New Zealand continues to have an independent foreign policy. We have strong views around the Pacific region and making sure it's the Pacific countries whose interest things occur in. We haven't changed our stance."
Overseas reaction
Beyond the Chinese Foreign Ministry's response overnight, the state's Global Times outlet has also reacted to the NZ/US joint statement.
One piece is headlined: "New Zealand parrots anti-China rhetoric as US exerts greater pressure on S.Pacific with empty talk of assistance".
It says New Zealand is "leaning towards echoing the US' concerns and distorting China's role in [the Pacific]". That, according to the outlet, reflects a "neocolonial mindset and growing pressure from the US".
"With a comparatively independent China stance, New Zealand was seen less aggressive toward China in the Five Eyes, which has not been blatantly following the US' geopolitical strategies of containing China like Australia does, however, there has been some changing rhetoric recently on issues such as human rights and China's influence in the region, according to observers."
China celebrated Mahuta last year after she said she was "uncomfortable" expanding the remit of the Five Eyes beyond security matters. It came amid criticism of New Zealand for not joining up to a Five Eyes statement on Hong Kong. However, Aotearoa has joined statements previously and since then.
The Global Times said at the time that Mahuta's comment was "remarkable" and "drew praises in China".
The state outlet on Thursday also ran an editorial saying Washington had seen Ardern's visit "as a chance to take advantage of New Zealand". The joint statement's point about the Solomons security deal was "gangster logic".
"It suggests sovereign countries in the South Pacific Ocean have no right to sign agreements with other countries. Otherwise, the 'strategic balance' of the US' version will be broken."
The Chinese reaction has received attention from other global media outlets, including The Australian, which said China was threatening "to put NZ in freezer with Australia".
That's a reference to Beijing's chilly relationship with Canberra that's led to trade sanctions on Australian products.
"Beijing has launched an unprecedented dressing down of New Zealand, accusing Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern of joining an American 'disinformation' campaign to 'discredit China,' and sending a veiled threat over trade between the countries," the article says.
A Reuters wire about China's response to the joint statement has also been shared widely, including by European and US outlets.
Opposition criticism
Greens foreign affairs spokesperson Golriz Ghahraman said the party is "concerned" with the joint statement as it suggested "greater military cooperation in the Pacific but does not specify the types of activities or deployments we could be committing to".
She said New Zealand must focus on assisting the Pacific as it faces climate change and biodiversity loss and any support to the US military should be "well defined", such as disaster relief or fisheries monitoring.
This would ensure "that we will not be dragged into great power political games between the likes of China and the United States which are not in our interests, or the interests of our Pacific community".
National's foreign affairs spokesperson, Gerry Brownlee, said New Zealand has long had a relationship with the US, as we also do with China, and believes it's "utterly ridiculous" to suggest that Aotearoa is a "US lapdog".
But he's concerned that Mahuta isn't currently visiting the Pacific, like her Australian and Chinese counterparts are.
"It’s important that we know what Pacific nations are thinking and reassure them that we are a willing and able partner. The only way we are really going to be able to do that is to get in front of people face to face," he said.
"But our Foreign Minister, Nanaia Mahuta seems to think sitting in Wellington, and letting her Australian counterpart do the heavy lifting, is enough. We believe she should have dovetailed a trip to the Pacific with Penny Wong, or done a double-act, to make it clear we remain close partners."
Mahuta, however, said she was in Fiji earlier this year and continues to be in communication with Pacific leaders over Zoom. She said Australia Foreign Minister Penny Wong was visiting the Pacific as she's a new minister wanting to show the new government's renewed priorities in the region.
She's planning to travel to the Solomon Islands as soon as schedules allow and will participate in the Pacific Islands Forum when it convenes sometime in the coming months.
