New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said in a speech at the China Business Summit on February 2 that “New Zealand and China do not, cannot, and will not reach a consensus on the values they believe in. In addition to pointing out the persecution of the Uighurs in Xinjiang and human rights in Hong Kong, she also called on China to take responsibility in the international community and to grow with its own rising power. She argued that while New Zealand can still cooperate in other areas, it must be honest with itself and stick to its values as a nation.
According to The Guardian, Alden stated bluntly that “we must acknowledge that China and New Zealand do not, cannot, and will not agree on certain things,” expressing her deep concern about the human rights situation of the Uighur people and pointing out that the rights, freedoms and autonomy of the Hong Kong people continue to be are being violated.
Ardern said New Zealand is under pressure from both domestic and international allies as the rise of China has changed international roles and made it difficult to agree on mutual values, a challenge that New Zealand, the Indo-Pacific region, and Europe and other countries are grappling with. The New Zealand Action Party (Act party) has also moved a motion in Parliament to discuss whether the Xinjiang issue constitutes “genocide” in China.
Even so, Ardern stressed that there are opportunities for the two countries to work together on trade, global warming and COVID-19 (the Chinese Communist virus). She believes that although the inability to reach consensus with the Chinese (communist) countries in certain areas does not affect the establishment of relations, but New Zealand must be honest with itself and stick to the values of a nation.
It is understood that, compared to Australia, which is tough against China (Communist Party), New Zealand’s attitude toward China (Communist Party) has been more ambiguous, because New Zealand and China have deep trade relations, from September 2020, the total amount of Chinese imports into New Zealand, more than the imports of Australia, the United States, the United Kingdom and Japan plus the total amount of four countries. However, as international allies have been alerted to the threat of the rise of China (Communist Party), New Zealand has also begun to clearly express its disapproval of China (Communist Party)’s human rights and democracy violations.
New Zealand Foreign Minister Nanaia Mahuta said last month that New Zealand and China’s interests and values are different and should respect each other, and that New Zealand would not agree with China’s human rights persecution. She also reiterated New Zealand’s intention to go for independent diplomacy, stressing that New Zealand must get rid of its dependence on trade with the Chinese (communist) countries.
Ardern believes that while it is still possible to cooperate with China in certain areas, New Zealand must adhere to its national values.
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