PM having to find his diplomatic feet fast ahead of high-stakes China visit

Chris Hipkins travels to China on Sunday as a foreign affairs rookie - the first visit from a New Zealand prime minister since 2019.

"Foreign policy is not the area which I have been most immersed in… but I like to think I'm a quick learner."

He will be hoping he has done his homework well. Even in that short time the world has become a different place; a post-pandemic economic slowdown, Russia's war in Ukraine, with the battle for influence between the United States and China playing out on New Zealand's doorstep.

In the days before Hipkins departed, the signals from Beijing's representative in Wellington were very positive. Ambassador Wang Xiaolong told RNZ he thought the bilateral relationship was "standing at one of the best moments in the history of our relations, since we established a formal diplomatic partnership".

And the prime minister got his first taste of the diplomatic minefield when asked whether he agreed with American President Joe Biden's characterisation of Chinese President Xi Jinping as a "dictator".

"No, and the form of government that China has is a matter for the Chinese people… if they wanted to change their system of government, then that would be a matter for them," Hipkins replied.

Dame Jacinda Ardern travelled to Beijing to meet with China's leadership in 2019. The fact she still went within weeks of the March terror attacks showed how important New Zealand saw the need to go and turn up in person, albeit for a very scaled-back visit.

Four years on and New Zealand continues to balance its long-standing relationships with Western partners and allies, like the other members of Five Eyes, against that with China.

Fifty years of formal diplomatic relations and China now dwarfs all other trade partners; New Zealand remains so reliant on that trade and is keen to boost it further, while trying to spread its risk through new deals elsewhere.

"New Zealand has a range of bilateral and multilateral relationships, that's nothing new," Hipkins said.

"We value our relationship with China, it's a very big trading partner for New Zealand, we'll continue to aim to strengthen that relationship… but it is one of many relationships that we have internationally."

The visit was "an important opportunity, first and foremost, to reflect on the progress we have made, which has been enormous over the years", said Wang.

"But more importantly, we see this as an opportunity for us to compare notes, the next steps we could take to take the comprehensive strategic partnership between us to the next level."

Hipkins said the visit was an "opportunity… to underscore the importance of the New Zealand China relationship...discussing a range of issues", with trade "right up there".

A delicate dance

The prime minister's media statement confirming Tuesday night's meeting (NZ time) with Xi, said topics would include climate change, economic stability, regional and global security, human rights and the Ukraine war.

Despite the pandemic, leaders in both countries were able to keep in touch virtually, which was "enormously helpful", said Wang.

"But… nothing beats face-to-face meetings in terms of promoting a common understanding, building up the commonality between us, as well as managing the differences." Those commonalities "far outweigh those differences", he said.

The relationship was such that difficult subjects could be raised, said Wang, but there were limits.

"The questions in relation to Xinjiang, Hong Kong and Tibet and Taiwan, these are internal affairs of China, which brooks no foreign interference.

"But at the same time, we are open to dialogues over the differences that may exist between us, and as long as those dialogues are based on mutual respect and non interference in each other's internal affairs, those dialogues would be constructive."

Former foreign minister and National MP Gerry Brownlee pushed back against accusations New Zealand pulls its punches when it comes to China, rather than risk losing trade.

"New Zealand has been part of what would be the freedom and democracy movement throughout the world, particularly alongside the partners who are in Five Eyes, really since before the First World War.

"So I don't think there's any doubt about what our views are and what our position is."

Speaking before he left, Hipkins was reluctant to get into too much detail about the specifics of what he would raise with President Xi.

"I'm not going to conduct diplomacy through the media, particularly before I've even had a chance to have a single conversation when I get there, but I'm certainly happy to relay to you to the conversations that we have, after."

He did say there were areas "around human rights where we disagree and there are some areas of international policy where I'm sure we will disagree".

The war in Ukraine

Foreign Minister Nanaia Mahuta returned from a visit to Beijing in March, highlighting the importance of the relationship along with the need for close and constant management.

While there, she reiterated New Zealand's "condemnation of Russia's illegal invasion of Ukraine" and restated New Zealand's commitment to the United Nations Charter and its "defence of sovereignty and territorial integrity".

Mahuta told RNZ this country continued to urge China to use "its influence with Russia to see an end to Russia's aggression in Ukraine".

"Effectively what that would look like is a return to internationally agreed territories."

What she "would hope" is that the "continued representations… might see China further distance itself from Russia because the international community are all focused on seeing an end to war".

China had held a "consistent position on the Ukrainian situation", said Wang.

"We have made it clear from the very start we would support peace, and we would support dialogues and negotiations to bring about a political solution.

"We would support upholding sovereignty and territorial integrity of all countries and we would support upholding the principles and purposes of United Nations Charter, so all these have been pretty clear and consistent."

He said Mahuta's visit was "quite useful, because it did include conversations on some of these issues, which resulted in better understanding of where we stand", and China had since issued a position paper on a "proposal for a political assessment of the Ukrainian situation" along with other diplomatic actions.

RNZ asked Wang whether China felt under more pressure than other major powers to influence Russia, given the unique relationship between their two presidents.

"I think we have a long-standing partnership with Russia just as we have a long standing partnership with Ukraine," he replied.

"And I think this is what we share between New Zealand and China because we both pride ourselves on an independent foreign policy and we always make judgments on issues on the basis of its own merit."

Brownlee said the New Zealand Parliament was united in its condemnation of the Ukraine war, a point that could be made during the leadership discussions. He, too, would like to see China take a stronger position.

"You can't go into the various forums that China is engaged in and express support for the rules-based system that has kept order in the world for such a long period of time and then turn a blind eye to the absolute abuse of that system by Russia's invasion of Ukraine," he said.

"It can't be supported, it can't be tolerated."