New Zealand informs China of its concerns about deadly aid to Russia

New Zealand Foreign Minister Nana Mahuta expressed her concern to China about providing any lethal aid to support Russia in its war against Ukraine during a meeting with her Chinese counterpart.

Her press office on Saturday detailed Mahuta’s cautionary remarks in Beijing, days after Chinese President Xi Jinping wrapped up his trip to Moscow, a cordial affair in which Xi and Russian President Vladimir Putin paid tribute to each other and spoke of deep friendship.

Mahuta’s four-day trip, which began on Wednesday, was the first by a New Zealand foreign minister to Beijing since 2018 but it came at a crucial time as Xi visited Moscow the same week to give Putin a diplomatic boost after the ICC said. You want to put him on trial for war crimes.

Regarding the Ukraine war, Mahuta reiterated her government’s condemnation of her counterpart Chen Gang’s “illegal invasion” of Moscow.

She also told Chen’s predecessor Wang Yi, who is now the Chinese Communist Party’s top foreign policy official, that peace and prosperity are the expectations of all parties, according to the official Chinese news agency Xinhua. She was quoted as saying in the report that New Zealand supports the political settlement of disputes through dialogue.

The agency added that Wang said that the urgent task is to achieve a cease-fire and the resumption of peace talks, and that China will continue to play a constructive role in promoting a political settlement.

Her press office said that during the meeting with Chen, Mahuta raised concerns about the human rights situation in Xinjiang, the erosion of freedoms in Hong Kong, disputes in the South China Sea, and increasing tensions in the Taiwan Strait.

The office added that the ministers discussed the possibility of New Zealand Prime Minister Chris Hepkins’ visit to China this year.

China is New Zealand’s largest trading partner and New Zealand exporters rely on China to buy dairy products and other agricultural commodities.