New Zealand Foreign Minister Nanaia Mahuta has expressed concern to China at a meeting with her Chinese counterpart over any provision of deadly aid in support of Russia’s war against Ukraine
March 25, 2023 2:39 PM ET
• 2 minutes reading time
BEIJING – New Zealand’s Foreign Minister Nanaia Mahuta has expressed concern to China at a meeting with her Chinese counterpart over any provision of lethal aid in support of Russia in its war against Ukraine.
Her press office carried out Mahuta’s cautionary remarks in Beijing on Saturday, days after Chinese President Xi Jinping finished his trip to Moscow, a cordial affair in which Xi and Russian President Vladimir Putin praised each other and spoke of a deep friendship.
Mahuta’s four-day trip, which began on Wednesday, was the first by a New Zealand foreign minister to Beijing since 2018, but it came at an awkward time when Xi visited Moscow that same week to give Putin a diplomatic boost, the International Criminal Court said she wants put him on trial for alleged war crimes.
Regarding the Ukraine war, Mahuta repeated to her counterpart Qin Gang that her government condemned the “illegal invasion” of Moscow.
According to China’s official Xinhua News Agency, she also said Qin’s predecessor, Wang Yi, now the Chinese Communist Party’s top foreign policy leader, said peace and prosperity are the expectations of all parties. New Zealand supports the political settlement of disputes through dialogue, she was quoted in the report as saying.
Wang said the urgent task is to reach a ceasefire and resume peace talks, and China will continue to play a constructive role in promoting a political settlement, the agency added.
During the meeting with Qin, Mahuta also raised concerns about the human rights situation in Xinjiang, the erosion of freedoms in Hong Kong, disputes in the South China Sea and rising tensions in the Taiwan Strait, her press office said.
Ministers discussed the possibility of New Zealand Prime Minister Chris Hipkins visiting China this year, the office added.
China is New Zealand’s largest trading partner, and New Zealand exporters rely on China to buy dairy and other agricultural goods.