Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has had an important face-to-face meeting with China’s President Xi Jinping.
The meeting was held at the APEC summit in Bangkok. It was scheduled for 20-minutes but went for longer.
During the meeting, Xi said China saw New Zealand as an “important partner and friend”.
In his translated opening comments, President Xi also said he thanked Ardern for her statements that New Zealand had an independent foreign policy, and said the China-NZ relationship had delivered benefits to both countries.
He said that a solid relationship also aided peace and stability, and the partnership should be taken “to a higher level”.
In response, Ardern said the two countries had different world views and political systems: “we will continue to address where we have those differences in a consistent and predictable way.”
