A NUMBER of Kiwi politicians have expressed concern that a diplomatic faux pas by the New Zealand trade minister suits the political ends of the Chinese Communist Party which seeks to pressure Australia by upgrading its trade deal with NZ.
NZ National Party MP Simon O’Connor, who is a member of the Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China, said on Friday that Trade Minister Damien O’Connor had shown a “blindness” to the situation when he said that Australia should follow NZ’s example and “show respect” to China.
- NZ Trade Minister Damien O'Connor fumbles into China-Australia diplomatic relations.
- NZ accused of running Chinese Communist Party line.
- Trade Minister told to 'stick to his own knitting'.
The Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China is an international cross-party group of legislators working towards reforming how democratic countries approach China.
“It suits the CCP to have a trade deal with New Zealand right now in order to increase pressure on Australia,” the National MP said.
He added: “For Damien to so loudly trumpet in the Australian’s faces suits the political end of the CCP.”
The National MP also said his Australian counterparts in the Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China believe that the minister was blatantly “running CCP lines”.
“Some of it I won’t be able to repeat,” he said. “They are very upset; they see it as a real slap in the face, poor timing, poor judgement.”
Meanwhile, echoing Simon O’Connor’s concerns, fellow National MP Gerry Brownlee said the trade minister had overstepped diplomatic boundaries.
Brownlee noted that New Zealand was not in a position to determine if there was a conflict between Australia and China.
“There has not been a time when New Zealand has not raised an issue of difference with China. Mr O’Connor is right that we do that respectfully, but we don’t need to tell other people how to do it,” Mr Brownlee said.
“He should take his own advice and stick to his knitting.”
SQUAWK
NZ Trade Minister Damien O’Connor initially made his comments on CNBC’s Squawk Box Asia program on January 27.
He said: “I can’t speak for Australia and the way it runs its diplomatic relationships, but clearly if they were to follow us and show respect, I guess a little more diplomacy from time to time and be cautious with wording; then they too could hopefully be in a similar situation.”
The trade minister’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
New Zealand’s Ardern government has attempted to smooth over diplomatic relations with her trade minister issuing a statement saying he had spoken to his Australian counterpart, Mr Dan Tehan.
According to Mr O’Connor, he reiterated to Mr Tehan that NZ does not speak for Australia “on this or any other matter,” The Australian newspaper reported.
“The Australia-China relationship will always be a matter for China and Australia,” Mr O’Connor said.
Minister Tehan, for his part, reiterated the strong bilateral relationship Australia has with NZ.
Confirming Mr O’Connor’s statement on ABC Weekend Breakfast on January 31, Mr Tehan thanked him for the call and noted that both ministers are scheduled to meet in the coming week for a bilateral meeting.
INTERESTS
“Our friendship is, obviously, an incredibly strong one, and our trading relationship is an incredibly strong one, so I look forward to working cooperatively with him,” Mr Tehan said.
“We all pursue our national interests according to our own interests, and New Zealand does that, Australia does that, and the best thing that we can do is make sure that we understand that each nation pursues its interests according to what’s best for that nation and that’s what he said in his clarifying tweet.” PC
The NZ Minister need to focus on his own area of interest or has he missed our efforts to reach out to China which is being ignored. I am not buying anything made in China…but I don’t think it will make much difference!
Given NZ spends so little on defence and relies on Australia to provide their defence! They have no fighters a small navy and little armour.
We have great respect for the Ancient Culture of China with her Buddhist and Confucian legacies.
However, while this modern Communist regime continues with their brutal repression and atrocious treatment of the Uighurs, their wholly unacceptable bullying tactics towards us and many other Democratic Countries and their flagrant flouting of international rules, they will continue to be censured by us all – and deservedly so!
China has grown powerful and in many ways, we must admire her rapid progress. However, she must also realise that friendly diplomacy and mature, measured behaviour is expected of her and is the only way to win the respect of the rest of the World.
We have great respect for the Ancient Culture of China with her Buddhist and Confucian legacies.
Actually, we don’t – as someone has so succinctly observed, “1,000 years of buddhism and 70 years of communism hasn’t done the Chinese any favours”.