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[Global Times Special Correspondent in New Zealand, Zhao Shuang, Global Times Reporter North Shore] Recently, New Zealand Prime Minister Laxon's remarks against China have attracted widespread criticism in the country's political circles. The New Zealand Herald reported on the 16th that former New Zealand Prime Minister Helen Clark and former leader of the New Zealand National Party and the Action Party Brash warned that the Laxon government is dragging the country "into the vortex of the US-China conflict."

In an interview with the Financial Times, Laxon said that the New Zealand business community will be more alert to the "Chinese espionage threat". He also said that New Zealand is "very open" to participating in the "Second Pillar of the Ocus Agreement" and called the New Zealand Defense Force a "military force multiplier for Australia, the United States and other partners."

New Zealand Prime Minister Laxon

According to the New Zealand Broadcasting Corporation (RNZ), Clark and Brash, two former political opponents, have joined forces to write a joint statement criticizing Laxon for abandoning New Zealand's decades of independent foreign policy. The statement said that the National Party led by Laxon did not mention changes to New Zealand's foreign policy during last year's general election campaign, and now Laxon's remarks on China may "have a significant impact on New Zealand's international trade, defense deployment and public spending." The statement clearly stated: "Not only does China not pose a military threat to New Zealand, it is also New Zealand's largest export market, more than twice as important as the United States."

It is understood that Clark and Brash served as leaders of the Labour Party and the National Party respectively in 2005 and competed fiercely in the general election that year. Clark eventually won the election by one seat and was subsequently re-elected as Prime Minister of New Zealand. During Clark's tenure, New Zealand and China signed a "bilateral free trade agreement", which was the first free trade agreement signed between a developed country and China, greatly promoting the rapid and efficient development of New Zealand-China trade.

Chen Hong, director of the New Zealand Research Center at East China Normal University, told the Global Times that for a long time, the New Zealand government, especially the previous Labour government, has been proud of taking long-term national interests into consideration rather than catering to the US hegemony strategy. This has won New Zealand the respect of the international community and promoted mutually beneficial cooperation between New Zealand and China. Chen Hong said that in the face of US pressure, the New Zealand Laxon government needs to have "political wisdom and strategic prudence to maintain New Zealand's independent foreign policy."

In addition, the joint statement issued by Clark and Brash questioned Laxon's "very open" attitude towards the "Second Pillar of the Ocus Agreement", emphasizing that New Zealanders have never heard of this before. At the end of the statement, the two concluded: "For decades, New Zealand has sought to engage with China and integrate into the international system. Isolating China is not in anyone's interest and will have a significant impact on New Zealand's economic security."

RNZ said Laxon is on leave and has not yet commented on the joint statement by Clark and Brash.

As for Lacson's statement that New Zealand and the Philippines are negotiating a "visiting forces agreement" and New Zealand will be able to deploy troops to the Philippines, Clark criticized it, saying: "The United States requires China to accept the presence of the US Navy near Chinese territorial waters, but if the situation is reversed, the United States will immediately be unable to bear it."

Yang Jian, a former New Zealand MP, told a special correspondent of the Global Times that many overseas Chinese in New Zealand have contacted him recently, expressing their shock, confusion and concern about Prime Minister Laxon's remarks. For a long time, overseas Chinese in New Zealand, like all New Zealanders, have been proud of New Zealand's independent foreign policy, and Laxon's remarks are tantamount to abandoning the core values ​​of New Zealand's diplomacy.

Yang Jian said that many Chinese businessmen in New Zealand are excited about the New Zealand government's goal of doubling New Zealand's exports to China within 10 years, but Prime Minister Laxon's remarks have poured cold water on the New Zealand business community. He said that many Chinese in New Zealand believe that New Zealand's desire to double its exports to China and show China its colors is just wishful thinking.