Chinese media praises NZ for ‘stronger economic recovery’ than Australia
Beijing state media is celebrating New Zealand’s turn away from the Five Eyes alliance under Jacinda Ardern. Here’s why it will get worse.
NSW
Don't miss out on the headlines from NSW. Followed categories will be added to My News.
Chinese state media has celebrated New Zealand’s further drift away from the tight-knit Five Eyes orbit, with Beijing mouthpiece Global Times saying Australia had been “unreasonable and provocative” by seeming to block Xi Jinping’s Belt and Road infrastructure initiative.
In the same article, the Times praised New Zealand for “securing a stronger economic recovery and growth path”.
And the problem is only likely to get worse, according to Michael Shoebridge, director of defence, strategy and national security at the Australian Strategic Policy Institute.
He said New Zealand had applied a policy that was “suitable for 2012, not 2021” because “it is based around a relationship with the Chinese state that is simply not possible with the kind of Chinese state Xi Jinping now leads”.
“Seeking mutual economic advantage while keeping strategic and interest differences in the background, influencing China’s government through ‘quiet diplomacy’ on Xinjiang, Hong Kong, militarisation or regional security is an approach that many other nations, including every other member of the Five Eyes, has tried and failed,” Mr Shoebridge said.
“The problem out of this for New Zealand is not just that it has created a gap between it and other Five Eyes partners on China policy, but also that Beijing will seek advantage by widening and exploiting this gap.”
Diplomatically New Zealand has moved closer to China in recent weeks, seeming to retreat from the Five Eyes alliance, which also includes the US, UK, and Canada. New Zealand’s foreign minister, Nanaia Mahuta, said she was “uncomfortable” with expanding the remit of the group beyond intelligence sharing.
In January New Zealand was the only Five Eyes member not to condemn China’s crackdown on democracy in Hong Kong.
More Coverage
Originally published as Chinese media praises NZ for ‘stronger economic recovery’ than Australia
INXS crowned with hottest Aussie song of all time
INXS’ Never Tear Us Apart has been voted the hottest Australian song ever by Triple J listeners, topping a special Hottest 100 that spanned five decades of homegrown hits - from Cold Chisel, The Veronicas and Kylie to Gang of Youths and Gotye.
‘We want answers’: Young dancer dies hours after hospital release
Layla-Maria Grubb’s devastated family are trying to piece together exactly what happened in the last few hours of her life, after she was tragically found unresponsive at home last Saturday afternoon.