Timing is everything. And from China’s perspective, this week’s visit by its foreign minister to New Zealand could be coming at just the right moment. The visit by Wang Yi to Wellington is his first since 2017. Anniversaries are important to Beijing. It is more than just a happy coincidence that the visit is taking … Read more
Advertisement In April 2021, New Zealand Foreign Minister Nanaia Mahuta likened the New Zealand-China relationship to “the respect a Taniwha would have for a Dragon and vice versa.” Mahuta’s speech was one of the more recent attempts to articulate the complicated and delicate nature of the bilateral relationship between China and New Zealand. The small … Read more
Advertisement “Warm and constructive”: That’s how New Zealand Prime Minister Chris Hipkins wanted his meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping on Tuesday to be remembered. Hipkins deployed the phrase at least eight times in a subsequent press conference with the New Zealand media. He was also keen to note that “the meeting was at no … Read more
Advertisement After months of mixed signals, Chris Hipkins will head to China at the end of June. A meeting between the New Zealand prime minister and Xi Jinping, the Chinese president, has yet to be officially confirmed, but this seems to be only a question of timing. Hipkins’ long-awaited visit to Beijing will come shortly before he attends July’s … Read more