On Tuesday, New Zealand’s Foreign Minister Nanaia Mahuta said she had a “very robust” discussion with her Chinese colleague before the presidents’ meeting.
In March, the Australian newspaper reported that Mahuta received an “epic haranguing” and “almighty dressing down” from China’s foreign minister Qin Gang, suggesting tensions between New Zealand and its main trading partner.
“I would say that China is very assertive in the way that it conveys its interests,” Mahuta told reporters on Tuesday, calling the March meeting “very robust.”
“The fact that we were able to achieve an invitation for our prime minister to visit China reflects the nature of the relationship, how mature it is, that we can have robust discussions and still be able to take a trade delegation over there.”
Mahuta did not elaborate on meeting topics.
Prime Minister Chris Hipkins led a team of New Zealand’s biggest corporations to Beijing on Monday.
Before returning home on Friday, he will meet President Xi Jinping, Premier Li Qiang, and NPC standing committee chairman Zhao Leji.
Mahuta has been more cautious than Australia in criticizing China’s human rights record, considering New Zealand’s major export market is dairy.
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