New Zealand PM John Key sucks up to China

Former New Zealand Prime Minister John Key has urged the government to stay close to China to stand any chance of influencing the superpower’s behavior.

Mr Key preached his commitment to Beijing in a lengthy interview on TVNZ’s Q+A program on Sunday, a rarity since he stepped down in 2016 after eight years in office.

He lamented that US-China relations “had deteriorated significantly” since his tenure, and dismissed Australia’s harsh-talking approach to China under Scott Morrison as counterproductive.

Mr. Key also slammed US House speaker Nancy Pelosi about her visit to Taiwan this week, suggesting it was selfish and risky.

“It was reckless, if you want to be nice. It was provocative and it was actually dangerous,” he said.

“Everyone knows that the third most important elected official in the United States shows up on Taiwanese soil, that’s stabbing in the bear.”

Amid mounting tensions between China and the US over Taiwan, Mr Key said he wanted “everyone to take a deep breath.”

“Literally tens, hundreds of thousands of jobs and incomes of New Zealanders rest on the fact that our biggest trading partner is China,” he said.

‘We sell a lot of goods there. A lot is being invested there. There is a lot of trade.

“To disrupt that potential – let’s face it – in a very fragile world … is this another dimension we want to add?”

Mr. Key also declined repeated invitations to name President Xi Jinping an authoritarian leader.

His intervention comes at a potential turning point in New Zealand’s foreign prospects.

Unlike Australia, New Zealand is not a defense ally of the United States and has maintained stronger ties with Beijing as part of its much-vaunted independent foreign policy.

Analysts felt a change in the air this year as China’s tacit support for Russia’s invasion of Ukraine pushed Wellington closer to the Joe Biden government.

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has deployed military resources and made financial contributions to the defense of Ukraine without direct involvement on the ground.

Australia and New Zealand have also become friends in the Pacific, supporting a push against China’s militarization of the region.

Mr Key examined China’s human rights violations in Xinjiang province, the rollback of democracy in Hong Kong and assertiveness in the Pacific. He did not deny its seriousness.

“If you build a better relationship through trade, will you get a bigger and better platform to showcase future changes and exert influence? Personally, I think so,’ he said.

‘Would you like to start cursing and upping the rhetoric? Australia has done that and has a much more aggressive relationship with China.

‘Really, is that the smartest thing to do? You either do it from the tent where you can have a respectful relationship, or you do it from the outside. I just don’t understand what a country as big as New Zealand gets from being outside.’

The interview came after a speech by Ms. Ardern at the China Business Summit last Monday, which was considered conciliatory towards China.

Foreign Minister Nanaia Mahuta also met her Chinese counterpart Wang Yi at the ASEAN summit in Cambodia this week, their first face-to-face meeting.

Mr. Wang enthusiastically endorsed the relationship after the meeting, saying that he believes New Zealand “views China and China’s development objectively and positively, and treats bilateral relations in a rational and sensible manner.”

Mr. Wang also invited to meet in Beijing when COVID-19 restrictions are eased, which Ms. Ardern has hinted to accept.