Ministry Statements & Speeches:
Prime Minister Rt Hon Jacinda Ardern met with the President of the People’s Republic of China Xi Jinping in the margins of APEC Economic Leaders’ Meeting in Bangkok, Thailand on 18 November 2022. The two leaders last met in person during the Prime Minister’s trip to Beijing in April 2019, and spoke in November 2021.
Prime Minister Ardern and President Xi both acknowledged the significance of 2022 as the 50th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Aotearoa New Zealand and China.
The Prime Minister spoke of the strength of our bilateral connections, and of the bilateral trade relationship, which provides significant benefit to both sides. She reflected on significant areas of bilateral cooperation including trade, agriculture, climate change and the environment. On climate change in particular, a number of technical exchanges had taken place, as well as a Ministerial meeting.
As Prime Minister Ardern has done in the past, she recorded New Zealand’s concerns regarding Xinjiang, Hong Kong, the South China Sea and in more recent times, the Taiwan Strait. She also encouraged China to use its influence and access to help address regional and international security challenges such as the DPRK and Ukraine.
Noting New Zealand’s interest in peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific region, the Prime Minister acknowledged China’s longstanding relationships in the Pacific but encouraged that where issues or cooperation impacted the wider Pacific region, engagement with regional architecture such as the Pacific Islands Forum was key.
Against the backdrop of the APEC Leaders’ meeting, the Prime Minister registered the importance of working together to sustain the rules, norms and systems that have served the region and the world so well for so many decades.
Both leaders concluded by confirming that a visit by the Prime Minister to China would occur at a mutually agreeable time and would be a fitting way to mark the 50th anniversary of diplomatic relations.