Politics

China invites New Zealand PM for official visit

Sydney, Australia, Mar 19 (EFE).- China has invited New Zealand’s Prime Minister Christopher Luxon to make an official visit to the country after the Chinese foreign minister’s visit to Wellington, strengthening the normalization of relations after years of bilateral tension.

As confirmed Tuesday by official New Zealand sources, China extended the invitation to Foreign Minister Winston Peters and his Trade counterpart Todd McClay to strengthen bilateral ties, while Wellington proposed that Chinese authorities make more visits.

“The invitations (from China) are official but the confirmation of these visits and the calendar have not been confirmed,” a Peters spokesperson told EFE today in an email.

The foreign minister met Monday in Wellington with Peters, as well as with Luxon and McClay after years of distancing between the countries and in full competition between Beijing and Washington to increase their respective influence in the Indo-Pacific.

Wang and Peters addressed issues such as the increase in tensions in the South China Sea and the Taiwan Strait, Beijing’s role in the war conflicts in Ukraine, the Middle East and tensions on the Korean Peninsula, as well as the situation in the western Chinese region of Xinjiang, Hong Kong and Tibet.

During the visit of Wang, the first Chinese foreign minister to travel to New Zealand since 2017, Wellington also sought to promote the bilateral exchange of products and services with China, its main trading partner.

This gesture comes a few months after the 10th anniversary of the signing of the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership agreement between New Zealand and China, when Chinese President Xi Jinping visited Wellington in November 2014.

Wang, who set off Sunday on a tour of Australia and New Zealand, plans to meet Wednesday in Canberra with his Australian counterpart Penny Wong to also strengthen the normalization of bilateral relations after years of tensions, as well as with business leaders of the oceanic power. EFE

wat/lds

Related Articles

Back to top button