China’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Wang Yi meets his New Zealand counterpart Winston Peters in Wellington, New Zealand, Monday, on March 18, 2024.
| Photo Credit: AP

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said March 18 that his country is ready to work with New Zealand to deepen trade and economic ties and address climate change.

Mr. Wang met his New Zealand counterpart, Winston Peters, at the start of a tour that will also include Australia.

China is willing to hold talks on reducing barriers to investment in the service sector “at an early time” and build new drivers of economic growth with New Zealand in the digital economy and through technological innovation, Wang said, according to a statement from China’s Foreign Ministry.

Mr. Peters, who is also deputy prime minister, met Wang in Wellington, New Zealand’s capital. “There have been some significant developments since we last met, not least a global pandemic that impacted both our countries,” he said in his opening comments in their formal meeting at New Zealand’s parliament house. “Today is a valuable opportunity to reflect on the challenges and opportunities that are now before us,” he said.

Mr. Wang is the highest-ranking Chinese official to visit the country since his previous visit in 2017. He called for creating better conditions for exchanges including education, tourism and youth programmes, citing the example of Rewi Alley, a 20th-century New Zealander who was a member of China’s Communist Party.

New Zealand has had strong economic ties with China in recent years and was the first developed country to sign a bilateral free trade deal with Beijing in 2008. The two countries expanded that trade agreement in 2022.

Mr. Wang also had a brief meeting with Prime Minister Christopher Luxon on March 18 and also is to meet Trade Minister Todd McClay while in Wellington.

Wang’s Australia trip

Mr. Wang will arrive in Canberra, Australia, on Wednesday to meet with counterpart Penny Wong, with talks between them expected to include the case of detained Australian Yang Hengjun.

It will be the first time the two foreign ministers have met face-to-face since Yang Hengjun was found guilty of espionage in a closed trial and sentenced to death with a two-year reprieve in February.

Also on the agenda will be the removal of the last remaining trade tariffs that were imposed by China in 2020 and were widely regarded as punishment for the previous Australian government’s passage of laws that ban covert foreign interference in domestic politics, for barring Chinese telecommunications giant Huawei from rolling out Australia’s 5G network due to security concerns and for calling for an independent investigation of the Covid-19 pandemic.

The trade tariffs cost Australia’s economy an estimated 20 billion Australian dollars ($13 billion), but have since been wound back on most goods except wine, rock lobsters and some abattoirs.

New Zealand Deputy PM Winston Peters. Photo: X/@winstonpeters

Evidence in the Nijjar killing in Canada can only be known once Canadian authorities complete their investigation and take the trial to court, New Zealand’s Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Winston Peters, indicating it was too early to comment on the issue that has damaged India-Canada ties for the past few months. At the end of a four-day visit to India, the first by him as part of the recently formed coalition government in New Zealand, Mr. Peters also said that India and New Zealand shared common views on Indo-Pacific security challenges, and should work more closely together. 

“Is the investigation complete?” Mr. Peters asked in response to a question from The Hindu on how New Zealand, a member of the ‘Five Eyes’ intelligence partnership with Canada, views Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s allegations in Parliament that Indian government agents were allegedly involved in the plot to assassinate a Khalistani separatist Canadian activist, who was killed in June 2023. Since then the issue has snowballed, especially after the U.S. authorities filed the indictment of an Indian national for ordering the assassination of another Khalistani separatist, Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, at the behest of a senior Indian intelligence official. However, Canadian authorities, who made their charge publicly before the U.S., have yet to take their case to trial. 

Mr. Peters’ comments are significant as they come months after the previous New Zealand government had joined other ‘Five Eyes’ grouping countries in calling on New Delhi to cooperate in the Canadian investigation on the Nijjar killing, and subsequently expressed concerns over the Modi government’s decision to ask half the Canadian High Commission’s diplomats to leave India in the wake of the allegations.

“Indians are famous for understanding the law. When you go to court, that’s when you find out all the evidence. If there is something suspicious, you wait for all the facts to come out,” Mr. Peters said, when asked about Canada’s evidence in the case while speaking to journalists at a reception held in his honour. During his visit to Delhi, Mr. Peters met with External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar, National Security Advisor Ajit Doval, and Vice-President Jagdeep Dhankar. 

Mr. Peters visited the Swaminarayan Akshardham temple in Gandhinagar, and met with representatives of the Jama Masjid mosque in New Delhi.

“India, like New Zealand, is an extremely diverse country in which varied communities come together to forge a common future. This diversity is reflected in New Zealand’s large and successful Indian diaspora. It was my pleasure to learn more about India’s faith communities and its rich spiritual heritage during this visit,” Mr. Peters said, according to a press release by the New Zealand High Commission..

“It is clear that New Zealand and India share common strategic perspectives about the security challenges our Indo-Pacific region faces as well as a commitment to do more together to meet them,” Mr. Peters was quoted as saying after talks with Dr. Jaishankar. 

In a social media post, Dr. Jaishankar said he welcomed New Zealand’s decision to join the International Solar Alliance, and discussed cooperation in the Commonwealth, UN Security Council reform, Indo-Pacific, and global issues.

.“Warm and productive meeting with [Mr. Peters.] [We] agreed on enhancing our political, trade & economic, security, connectivity, mobility, education and people to people ties,” the External Affairs Minister wrote on Tuesday. 

India and New Zealand at present share total bilateral trade of $1.56 billion, and the Indian diaspora in New Zealand numbers about 240,000 .

Deputy Prime Minister of New Zealand Winston Peters with Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel, in Gandhinagar, on March 11.
| Photo Credit: ANI

Deputy Prime Minister of New Zealand Winston Peters met Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel in Gandhinagar on March 11 and they discussed establishment of a joint committee to strengthen cooperation between the two sides.

The two leaders also discussed potential collaboration between Gujarat and New Zealand in education and other sectors. Mr. Peters showed interest in collaboration with Gujarat in fields such as agri-business, maritime coordination, food security, dairy farming, renewable energy, green hydrogen, and tourism, stated a government release.

“Chief Minister Patel told the visiting deputy PM of New Zealand that India’s new National Education Policy, unveiled in 2020, prioritises skill development, employability, and higher education,” the release said.

“The CM suggested that companies from New Zealand can consider leveraging the expanding digital ecosystem, particularly in fintech, at GIFT City in Gandhinagar,” it said.

“In the meeting, the Chief Minister said the Vibrant Gujarat Global Summit’s success under Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s leadership has solidified Gujarat’s status as the best destination for investment,” the release stated.

Mr. Patel said Modi is committed to nurturing India’s relations with nations across the globe as a ‘Vishva Mitra’ (global friend).

“The Vibrant Gujarat Summit, whose 10th edition was held in January, signifies a milestone as India is determined to become the third-largest economy in the world in the next few years,” the CM said.