PM in China: Chris Hipkins speaks after meeting Chinese Premier Li Qiang

Prime Minister Chris Hipkins will address media after a morning inspecting a guard of Chinese troops and meeting Premier Li Qiang.

Li and Hipkins met in the Great Hall of the People in Tiananmen Square in Beijing, after meeting President Xi Jinping yesterday.

The meeting got off to a promising start with Li saying, through a translator, he was “inspired” by some of the remarks made by Hipkins at the World Economic Forum’s Summer Davos event on Tuesday.

He also praised Hipkins’ work as Covid-19 minister during the pandemic.

“You led the people of New Zealand to successfully respond to the Covid pandemic,” he said.

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Li also thanked Hipkins for coming to China within six months of becoming Prime Minister.

PM Chris Hipkins meets Chinese Premier Li Qiang at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, China. Photo / Nathan McKinnon, RNZ

Hipkins said the large delegation he had brought with him was a reflection of the significance of the high regard in which the relationship was held.

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The meeting came after Hipkins was welcomed to the Great Hall of the People by President Xi Jinping on Tuesday night, New Zealand time.

That meeting seems to have gone down well in China.

Prime Minister Chris Hipkins and Premier Xi Jinping shake hands in the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on Tuesday. Photo / Nathan McKinnon

Li Haidong, a professor at the China Foreign Affairs University told the Global Times that if other Western countries took New Zealand’s less disputatious approach to China, it would improve the economic recovery from the pandemic.

“If other countries around the globe, especially Western ones, can learn some wisdom and experience from New Zealand’s policy on China, the global recovery will be greatly optimised, the world order will be a lot more stable and the danger of bloc confrontation and the risks of more geopolitical crises will significantly reduce,” Li said.

The Global Times also praised Hipkins’ decision not to get drawn into the debate over whether President Xi was or was not a dictator, which was sparked by US President Joe Biden’s decision to blast Xi with the slur last week.

“This shows that the government of New Zealand and the policymakers of the country have held a principle of non-interference when dealing with China, and refused to follow the arrogant and offensive attitude of Washington, while Wellington is able to develop ties with China based on the interests of New Zealand’s people,” the Global Times wrote, citing analysts.