China’s spy agency accuses New Zealand of ‘harassment, intimidation’ of Chinese citizens

Ministry of State Security condemns ‘deeply malicious’ investigations that labelled China an ‘intelligence threat’, warns of harm to bilateral relations

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China’s MSS has dismissed a recent New Zealand security threat report as part of a broader pattern of rumours being spread about China. Photo: Shutterstock Images

Published: 5:02pm, 26 Sep 2024Updated: 5:48am, 27 Sep 2024

China’s top counter-espionage agency has accused New Zealand of “harassment and intimidation” in its investigations of Chinese nationals after Wellington released an annual security threat report that labelled China as a “complex intelligence concern”.

The Ministry of State Security (MSS) condemned New Zealand for what it said were unfounded claims of a “Chinese intelligence threat”, adding that such actions harmed bilateral relations. The MSS said the allegations reflected New Zealand’s “ideological bias” and “cold war mentality”, which undermined cooperation between the two countries.

“The harassment and intimidation faced by Chinese citizens in New Zealand is deeply malicious and unacceptable,” the MSS said on its WeChat account on Thursday.

The criticism followed a formal diplomatic complaint from Beijing to the New Zealand Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade earlier this month.

In a statement on September 19, the Chinese embassy said that it received reports of Chinese nationals being “harassed” and “intimidated” by security officials in New Zealand after the New Zealand Security Intelligence Service (NZSIS) released an annual threat report on September 4 that branded China as a “complex intelligence concern”, highlighting the threats of “foreign interference”.

The report said China manipulated viewpoints within New Zealand’s Chinese communities through deceptive front organisations and promoted narratives through a Chinese-language news outlet believed to operate under Beijing’s influence.