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New Zealand hopes to avoid China economic blowback as it mulls joining Aukus
- Foreign Minister Winston Peters urged Beijing to respect Wellington’s right to an independent foreign policy, saying ‘Aukus is about looking after our own defence’
- Peters added he does not anticipate any threats to curtail trade from New Zealand’s largest export customer
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New Zealand expects China to respect its right to an independent foreign policy as it explores joining the Aukus security pact between Australia, the US and UK, Foreign Minister Winston Peters said.
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While Beijing has expressed concerns about Wellington signing up to Aukus, Peters said he does not anticipate any threats to curtail trade from New Zealand’s largest export customer.
“I do not expect economic coercion from stating what they promised me we had a right to do – state our own independent foreign policy,” he said in an interview late Wednesday in Wellington. “We’ve got a commitment out of them that they respect that. My response to China is you say you respect it and I trust you to respect it.”
Peters, who is also deputy prime minister in New Zealand’s new centre-right government, is moving the country closer to its traditional Western partners such as the US. At the same time, he wants to maintain a strong relationship with China, the biggest buyer of New Zealand milk and log exports, and avoid the trade reprisals Australia suffered when it angered Beijing.
Aukus, which aims to counter China’s growing influence in the Indo-Pacific, involves London and Washington helping Canberra to field a fleet of nuclear-powered submarines. New Zealand has a nuclear-free policy and is only interested in pillar two of the pact, which relates to cooperation in strategically sensitive areas including quantum computing and artificial intelligence.
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