Prime Minister Christopher Luxon (left) met with China's President Xi Jinping at the Apec Summit in Peru in 2024. Photo / Pool
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon (left) met with China's President Xi Jinping at the Apec Summit in Peru in 2024. Photo / Pool
“I started going to China in the mid-90s,” Prime Minister Christopher Luxon said, sitting down with the Herald on the eve of his first trip to the country as Prime Minister.
“It’s an incredible country ... to see the amount of progress there is amazing,” Luxon said.
On his firstvisits to the cities of Beijing and Shanghai, Luxon recalled there “were a lot more bicycles than there were cars”. Then, as China industrialised and became wealthy, the bicycles disappeared and were replaced by cars – “now it’s the complete opposite”.
China is now the world leader in electric vehicle (EV) manufacturing. According to the International Energy Agency (IEA), the country manufactured 70% of all EVs in 2024, many of them coming from China’s own car companies.
Even foreigners can’t resist. Elon Musk’s Tesla might be the most famous American EV manufacturer, but the company’s largest factory is in Shanghai.
He’ll then travel to Beijing and meet President Xi Jinping and Premier Li Qiang, before he departs for the Nato summit in Europe.
Rebuilding trade links is easier said than done. China allows visa-free travel for New Zealand tourists, but New Zealand is unlikely to completely reciprocate, due to fears it may lead to a surge of overstayers and asylum seekers.
The Government is making tweaks and over the weekend announced a trial visa waiver for Chinese visitors who already had an Australian visa, making it easier for tourists who visit Australia to add on a visit to New Zealand.
Asked whether there were other regulatory changes the Government could make to encourage visitors back, Luxon said “I genuinely think our challenge is awareness within the domestic Chinese market”.
“I want to lift and make sure we’ve got share of mind and that will translate into more trade,” he said.
“What I’m wanting to do is reinvigorate the awareness of New Zealand within domestic China.
“It’s a big market of 1.5 billion people, almost. New Zealand went through a period of introversion and was inward-looking and came out of it much later than most other countries [although not later than China itself]. I want to make sure that we are doing everything we can to raise the profile within China.
“We’ve got a very good proposition in tourism and education.”
Concerns over looser tourism settings leading to the arrival of a large number of asylum seekers hint at the other challenge posed by China, its repressive and increasingly assertive Government.
Li Qiang, Premier of the State Council of the People’s Republic of China (left) with New Zealand Prime Minister Christopher Luxon in Auckland in 2024. Photo / Dean Purcell
Luxon would not say ahead of time whether he would raise these issues in his bilateral meetings.
“I’ve been very consistent from day one. [It’s] a continuation of what has happened under previous administrations, which is that we have an independent foreign policy, we act in our natural interest.
“We have huge areas of co-operation that can advance the wealth of both countries, but we also have to acknowledge that we have differences, and where we have those, my message has been very clear to both President Xi and Premier Li, we raise those consistently, predictably, publicly, privately.”
Luxon dismissed concerns New Zealand’s increased defence spending might be perceived by China as hostile.
The remarks were controversial for showing just how close Key and Xi had become.
Luxon said he was currently on Xi’s Christmas card list, although he wasn’t entirely sure.
“I get a lot of Christmas cards from a lot of leaders, I can’t tell you for sure, but I’m sure I was. I’d suggest that’s not the major focus of a visit to China.”
Asked whether he hoped to stay on the list after leaving office, Luxon said: “Well, we’ve got a great relationship and a good relationship and we want to take it to the next level and continue to look at areas of opportunity between the two countries.
“Yes, we have areas of difference but as I said, we will raise those maturely and appropriately.”
Luxon could have some time with US President Donald Trump at the Nato leaders’ summit in the Netherlands.
The Trump administration says it is doing trade deals with countries and formalising new rules of access to US markets, although details of these deals appear hazy and one agreed with the UK has yet to enter force.
Luxon is not hopeful any deal with New Zealand would reduce the 10% tariff the Trump administration gave New Zealand exporters on “Liberation Day”.
He said the administration has been clear that 10% is the minimum.
Despite not being a formal member of the Nato alliance, the Nato leaders’ summit, which New Zealand attends as a member of the Indo-Pacific 4, has become a fixture of the Prime Minister’s calendar, taking its place alongside the Pacific Islands Forum, the UN Leaders’ Week and Apec.
This will be the fourth straight Nato leaders’ summit attended by the New Zealand Prime Minister since Dame Jacinda Ardern went in 2022 (Helen Clark also attended a Nato summit).
Luxon does not see this as evidence New Zealand is being drawn into the American orbit.
