Luxon greets China's top legislator at start of rare visit

China's top legislator met Prime Minister Christopher Luxon in Auckland on Thursday at the beginning of a three-day visit to New Zealand.

Zhao Leji, chairman of China's National People's Congress Standing Committee, is the country's third most powerful political figure after President Xi Jinping and Premier Li Qiang.

Speaking through an interpreter at the Novotel hotel, Zhao said the two nations should have "friendly and in-depth exchanges".

Luxon said it was the first time in 20 years that the chairman of the National People's Congress had visited New Zealand.

"It is very clear we have a strong trading relationship, Luxon said," noting that two-way trade currently totalled just under $40 billion.

"We also very much value the deep people-to-people relationships we have between the tourists and the students and the businesspeople that make a great contribution to New Zealand," he said.

"Obviously, we are a very changing and uncertain world, and these kinds of conversations and dialogues are very important for us as we work out how to seize opportunities and navigate some of the challenges that we see," he said.

"But what remains constant is our commitment to cooperation, particularly in areas that are diverse as education ...[and] agriculture."

A woman named Fan stood outside the hotel during the reception in a show of support with friends.

"A strong nation is the strongest backing for us overseas Chinese, and we really look forward to the visit of our national leaders to New Zealand," Fan said. "It gives us confidence."

Susan Li of the Epsom Chinese Association said Zhao's visit would help strengthen bilateral relations and support economic development between the two countries.

"We hope New Zealand and China can improve their economic ties and build a better relationship," Li said.

New Zealand Falun Dafa Association opposed Zhao's visit, claiming he was involved in the persecution of practitioners in China.

"Since 1999, the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) has subjected practitioners in China to systematic human rights abuses, including arbitrary detention, forced ideological 'transformation', torture and deaths in custody, as documented by numerous international organisations," the group said in a statement.

The group called on the government to address human rights concerns during Zhao's visit.

"New Zealand must stand firm on the side of humanity," said Wendy Cao Akarana Rewi, a spokesperson for the group.

Zhao is scheduled to fly to Wellington later in the day to meet his New Zealand counterpart, Speaker Gerry Brownlee.

Small crowds of Chinese patriots have started to gather on Parliament's lawn and outside a central Wellington hotel where Zhao is believed to be staying.

On Saturday, Zhao is also expected to unveil a plaque at the opening ceremony of the Rewi Alley Memorial Museum in Christchurch.

Alley visited China for the first time in 1927 and ended up spending 60 years there, making him well-known to Chinese New Zealanders.

He was a political activist, writer and educator who was a key figure in the establishment of the Chinese Industrial Cooperatives that supported China's effort in the Second Sino-Japanese War by organising small-scale grassroots industrial and economic development.

Alley also helped establish several prominent technical training schools, including the Bailie Schools and Peili Vocational Institute (now Beijing Bailie University).

After concluding official duties in the South Island, Zhao is expected to travel across the Tasman to meet his Australian counterparts, Speaker of the Senate Sue Lines and Speaker of the House of Representatives Milton Dick, finishing his Australasia visit on 25 November.

Luxon met Zhao in Beijing earlier this year during the prime minister's whirlwind visit to China in June to strengthen ties in trade, tourism and education.

China's premier visited New Zealand in June last year.