NZ Prime Minister Christopher Luxon talks to media in Malaysia. Photo: RNZ / Lillian Hanly
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon says a "positive conversation" between China and the United States is important, given recent volatility around rare earth minerals and tariffs.
Luxon is in Kuala Lumpur for the 20th East Asia Summit, which US President Donald Trump also attended.
While in Malaysia, Trump secured deals with Thailand, Malaysia, Cambodia and Vietnam, and agreed to consider zero tariff rates for some southeast Asian goods in an attempt to diversify access for the US to certain minerals, as exports from China tightened.
Luxon told reporters he did not expect to secure a similar trade deal with the US, pointing out that many southeast Asian countries had been hit with much higher tariffs than New Zealand.
"We still think there's lots that we can do together with the US, but it's more about the flow-on implications of what that means for the global trading system," he said.
Instead, his focus in Kuala Lumpur was securing the New Zealand-ASEAN Comprehensive Strategic Partnership he hoped to finalise on Tuesday.
New Zealand would be at the "highest level of partnership" with the 11 economies within ASEAN under that arrangement.
"One of my things that I'm doing while I'm here is encouraging exports from New Zealand into Malaysia and into the region, but also encouraging investment from the ASEAN countries into New Zealand."
NZ Prime Minister Christopher Luxon with Vietnamese PM Pham Minh Chinh. Photo: RNZ / Lillian Hanly
He pointed to investments in tourism, hospitality and renewable energy that were coming out of that part of the world.
"New Zealand is just on the radar and a much higher priority, and as a result, more exports, more investment."
He said more investment meant projects were built quicker, and there were more jobs and opportunities for "people back at home".
"We improve what's called our 'economic productivity', which is all good stuff."
While his focus was on building those opportunities for New Zealand, Luxon acknowledged he had monitored news reports on the impending meeting between President Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping on Thursday, and was across conversations New Zealand officials had with Chinese and American officials.
He pointed to the "big meeting" shaping up between the two and the "volatility" over the "last five days even", using the conversation about rare earth critical minerals and the "tit for tat" tariffs.
He said trade and commerce representatives for the two nations had "clearly" found a way to set up a framework for those two leaders to have a "positive conversation" and it was "important that they do".
"It's important that they can come together in forums like this and we can resolve diplomatic issues in the region."
In regards to New Zealand, he said, "We've got our own set of framing", but pointed to the "second and third-order consequences of what that instability and chaos does in the world".
NZ PM Christopher Luxon arrives in Malaysia. Photo: Lillian Hanly / RNZ
Luxon said the US and China were two of the largest economies in the world, and working together was in their mutual interests.
This evening, Luxon will attend the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership meeting, a recently formed trade agreement out of ASEAN.
There he will ask what more can be done to reaffirm the rules-based system.
After that, the East Asia Summit - the forum for ASEAN - will take place, before the gala dinner, with all 11 leaders and dialogue partners of ASEAN.
Luxon has met with the Vietnamese Prime Minister, and is expected to also meet with the Prime Ministers of Thailand, Laos and Cambodia today.
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