New Zealand Foreign Affairs Minister Hon Nanaia Mahuta spoke with the country’s diplomatic envoys to Hong Kong and Shanghai on Wednesday, with a focus on trade, human rights, and tourism. Her meetings underscored how, unlike Australia, New Zealand has been able to maintain a healthy trade relationship with China despite continuing to criticise it for its policies in Hong Kong and in mainland China.
Following her meeting with the Kiwi Consul-General to Hong Kong, John Riley, who has previously served in South Korea and the United Kingdom (UK), Mahuta said, “New Zealand’s engagement with the authorities and people of Hong Kong is greatly important to us,” adding, “As I have said previously, New Zealand has been concerned by developments in recent months and is committed to supporting the rights and freedoms of the people of Hong Kong.”
Her next interaction of the day was with Stephen Wong, the Consul-General to Shanghai, who has previously served in Chengdu, as well as Myanmar, Singapore, and Indonesia. Mahuta underscored the importance of the city, seeing as it is China’s “commercial and financial centre and most populous city”. She said that Shanghai is “home to a large New Zealand business community, and is a vital market for our exports, tourism and education”.
In mid-2020, it appeared that New Zealand’s relations with China were on course to deteriorate, particularly after Prime Minister (PM) Jacinda Ardern’s criticism of the Chinese government’s treatment of Uighur Muslims in the Xinjiang province, its newly unveiled national security law in Hong Kong, and its unwillingness to allow Taiwan to join the World Health Organization (WHO).
Ardern stressed upon the fact that New Zealand has a vested interest in ensuring that the autonomy of Hong Kong is protected, given that there are thousands of New Zealanders “living in, or with close ties to, Hong Kong”. Likewise, the now-former Foreign Affairs Minister, Winston Peters, said that the country would be reviewing its relationship with Hong Kong after China passed the new national security legislation.
However, even Ardern noted that these simmering diplomatic tensions did not have a bearing on the two countries’ economic relationship, which she said remains in “good shape”.
In fact, New Zealand is the only country among the Five Eyes—an intelligence alliance comprised of Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, and the United States—that has yet to ban the use of Huawei equipment in its 5G network. Furthermore, it has indicated its interest in China joining the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), and is also part of the China-led Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), alongside 13 other countries.
China’s ambassador to New Zealand, Wu Xi, warned Wellington against interfering in Beijing’s “internal affairs”. However, it appears that these bubbling tensions have done little to damage trade relations, which is underscored by the Free Trade Agreement (FTA) signed by the two countries this week.
On Tuesday, Minister for Trade and Export Growth Damien O’Connor was joined by Chinese Minister of Commerce Wang Wentao in virtually announcing the deal. As a result of the agreement, the majority of New Zealand’s $3 billion of wood and paper exports to China will now be exempted from tariffs, with similar duties removed on dairy and seafood products. Aside from simplifying the documentation process, the FTA also promises to expand the current $32 billion two-way trade relationship.
This is in sharp contrast to its neighbour Australia, which has damaged both its diplomatic and trade ties with China. During Australian PM Scott Morrison’s term, Australia has grown ever-closer to the United States, particularly during the ongoing pandemic. His administration has called for international investigations into China’s complicity in the coronavirus pandemic, described Beijing’s territorial claims in the South China Sea (SCS) as having “no legal basis”, criticised the new security legislation in Hong Kong and the treatment of Uighur Muslims in Xinjiang province, elevated Australia’s relationship with India from a Strategic Partnership to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership (CSP), participated in the Malabar naval exercises with the Quad, signed a defense pact with Japan, joined US warships in an attempt to steer Chinese vessels out of Malaysia’s Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ), banned Huawei from the country’s 5G network, and introduced a new law that will allow the federal government to overrule any agreements reached between state agreements and foreign governments and entities.
As a result, China’s MOFCOM has placed strict trade restrictions and even temporary bans on a number of Australian exports, including copper, wine, beef, barley, timber, lobster, coal, dairy, sugar, wool, fruit, and oatmeal. In fact, following the announcement of the FTA with New Zealand, state-owned news outlet Global Times said that the deal should serve as a “wake up call” for Australia and make it “envious”.
One suspects that the reason for this disparity in Australia and New Zealand’s ties with China is due to the fact that Wellington has taken a more measured approach in its dealings with the Asian giant, and has not sided with the US at every turn. In fact, Australian opposition leader Anthony Albanese recently criticised the Morrison administration for significantly weakening and eroding Australia’s independence and flexibility in its relationship with the US by going “too far” in trying to appease the Trump administration. The impact of this is illustrated in how Australia has been at the receiving end of various trade restrictions by China while its neighbour, New Zealand, has signed an FTA.
On the same day as her meetings with New Zealand’s envoys to Hong Kong and Shanghai, FM Mahuta also spoke with the country’s ambassador to Poland, Alana Hudson, who has previously served in Belgium and Switzerland. After their meeting, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said, “New Zealand’s relationship with Poland is built on enduring personal, economic and historical connections. Poland is also an important partner for New Zealand in the European Union, and our FTA with the EU, currently under negotiation, will provide a good basis to strengthen our relationship.”
In other diplomatic news in New Zealand, Minister for Climate Change James Shaw held a telephone call with United States (US) President’s Special Envoy for Climate John Kerry. Following their call, Shaw said, “I shared with Mr. Kerry how pleased I was that one of President Biden’s first actions was to re-join the Paris Agreement. There is no question that having the US back at the table will make a big difference to international efforts to deal with the climate emergency.” He remarked, “Among the topics we discussed were our shared objective of raising global ambition ahead of the global climate talks in Glasgow at the end of the year and the impact of climate change on our Pacific neighbours.”
New Zealand’s Trade Ties With China Strong Despite Diplomatic Disputes, Unlike Australia
Despite continuing to criticise China for its policies in Hong Kong and in mainland China, New Zealand has continued to foster harmonious trade ties with China, unlike its neighbour Australia.
January 28, 2021
IMAGE SOURCE: KENZABURO FUKUHARA / KYODO NEWS VIA REUTERSNew Zealand PM Jacinda Ardern (L) and Chinese President Xi Jinping met in Beijing in 2019.