WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) — Chinese Premier Li Qiang met with New Zealand Prime Minister Christopher Luxon in Wellington on Thursday, where the two leaders stressed their ability to respectfully disagree as “good friends,” though there was little public disagreement.
Li, China’s number two, will be the first Chinese premier to visit New Zealand since Li Keqiang’s visit in 2017. Australia and MalaysiaChina’s Foreign Ministry announced the visit this week, which coincides with a dwindling of tensions between China and Russia. Australia and China This has caused trouble in relations between the two countries in recent years.
After the meeting, Luxon and Li announced new agreements on trade, the environment and other issues.
China is the South Pacific nation’s largest trading partner, with trade between the two countries amounting to NZ$36 billion ($22 billion). The two countries signed a bilateral free trade agreement in 2008. It was China’s first with a member of the Organization for Cooperation and Development, and Premier Li Keqiang’s visit marked the 10th anniversary of a pledge to strengthen ties signed in 2014, the last time Chinese President Xi Jinping visited Wellington.
New Zealand has long been looking to diversify its export markets away from reliance on China, and Luxon on Thursday hailed Li’s visit as a new opportunity for business, citing China’s “rapidly emerging middle class”, adding that there were “huge” opportunities for more trade.
Wellington has in recent years adopted a more moderate stance towards Beijing on security issues than many Western countries, including the United States, Britain, Australia and Canada, and has called for a coherent foreign policy approach from Beijing across party and administration.
As a result, New Zealand often speaks more moderately than its allies on human rights and security issues in China, but Foreign Minister Luxon said on Thursday the two countries’ “long-standing” relationship allowed for differences.
“It’s actually a very good thing that we can have very direct and open discussions about issues where we disagree and have different views,” Lacson said. “It may be uncomfortable for both sides, but at least we can actually do that.”
Li also expressed the two countries’ willingness to acknowledge their differences.
“It’s natural that we won’t always agree on everything,” he told reporters, “but I don’t think our differences should become a gulf that prevents us from interacting and communicating. Rather, it should be a driving force for us to learn from each other and help each other grow.”
The two countries are “good friends”, Li added.
When asked by reporters how much of their common ground was covered and how much their differences were taken into account in his meeting with Li, Lacson replied, “Probably 50-50.”
Mr Luxon said he had told his Chinese counterpart that foreign interference in New Zealand’s affairs would “not be tolerated”. Mr Luxon said PM Lee had expressed concerns about Wellington’s possible participation in AUKUS, a tripartite security pact with Australia, the US and the UK.
Li was given a warm welcome by New Zealanders upon his arrival in the New Zealand capital, with his supporters lining the streets of the capital far outnumbering protesters condemning China’s human rights record.
When asked by a reporter whether China was a good citizen in the international community, Luxon was hesitant.
“That’s important,” he said.
Premier Li Keqiang’s visit to Canberra will mark the culmination of two years of efforts to reset China-Australia relations after a period of tough challenges, including regional security and human rights issues.
The visit will be the first by a Chinese premier in seven years and follows Prime Minister Albanese’s visit to Beijing in November last year and Foreign Minister Wang Yi’s visit to Australia and New Zealand in March. China has been steadily removing tariffs and other restrictions it imposed on Australian imports amid a deterioration in relations between the two countries in 2020.
China opposes plans for Australia to acquire nuclear submarines with U.S. and British backing, which it sees as part of U.S. efforts to check China by deepening military ties with other countries in the region.
But with Australia unlikely to back down on the issue, Li will likely focus on overcoming differences and deepening economic ties between the two countries. Australia has a trade surplus with China and is a major supplier of iron ore and other minerals to the world’s second-largest economy.
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Associated Press writer Ken Moritsugu in Beijing contributed to this report.
