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new zealand, which has always been friendly to china, has been making trouble recently, falsely claiming that "china is an intelligence risk" and expressing support for the taiwan authorities on issues related to taiwan. new zealand prime minister laxon, who took office in november last year, had been sending friendly signals to china, but after announcing last month that he would get closer to the united states and western allies, his attitude towards china changed.

new zealand prime minister laxon

recently, the new zealand security intelligence service released their so-called "security threat environment" annual report. when mentioning "foreign interference", it specifically singled out china for smearing, exaggerating that "china has complex and deceptive intelligence activities in new zealand." however, new zealand also admitted that "it is difficult to conclude whether there are foreign governments involved in these activities."

at the pacific islands forum (pif) leaders' meeting a few days ago, new zealand also expressed its position on the taiwan issue. new zealand prime minister laxon said that taiwan is a "development partner" of the pif, and if taiwan is to be kicked out, member countries must discuss it together.

even the us media mentioned that new zealand has always had a mild attitude towards mainland china, so why is it now making inappropriate remarks on issues related to taiwan? not only does it smear china on intelligence issues, but it also warns of "threats" from china?

new zealand prime minister laxon meets with wang yi

french media analyzed that new zealand's unusual statement reflected that the newly-elected center-right government wanted to further tilt the country's foreign policy toward its traditional western allies.

in mid-last month, lacson made his first major speech on foreign policy, saying, "new zealand can no longer hide in a corner and must interact more with traditional allies such as the united states, britain and nato."

at the same time, he did not forget about china, saying that "china has an influence on new zealand that cannot be underestimated." but then he changed the subject and said, "china and new zealand have different values, which means that on some issues, china and new zealand cannot reach an agreement." this tone is really intriguing.

lacson attends nato summit

at that time, french media pointed out that "this shows that new zealand has undergone a significant policy shift after long-term close cooperation with china". you know, during the new zealand general election last year, laxon and former prime minister hipkins were arguing over how to deal with china. as soon as laxon came to power, he also said that he would cooperate with china in jointly building the "belt and road" initiative and warmly welcomed china's assistance.

in june this year, during a meeting with chinese senior officials, laxon reiterated that new zealand would adhere to the one-china policy and was willing to strengthen communication with china at all levels, and expressed a strong desire to deepen cooperation between the two countries in agriculture, food, environment and other fields. both china and new zealand agreed to promote the steady development of china-new zealand relations.

although new zealand is a member of the "five eyes alliance", it has always been unwilling to be influenced by a single ideology or external pressure in its foreign policy and has shown a relatively independent attitude. especially in affairs concerning china, new zealand often chooses to keep a certain distance from other members of the "five eyes alliance".

former new zealand prime minister hipkins (second from right) tastes tea at fonterra shanghai application center

for example, on the issue of the origin of the new coronavirus three years ago, new zealand refused to echo the so-called "laboratory leak theory" of western countries, nor did it participate in the joint statement questioning the who report, but insisted on independent analysis and objective judgment.

china is new zealand's largest trading partner. the economic and trade cooperation between the two countries has not only reached new highs, but also brought tangible benefits to the people of both countries. as an export-oriented economy, 25% of new zealand's jobs are dependent on the export industry, and the livelihoods of about 630,000 new zealanders are closely linked to foreign trade.

therefore, the new zealand government should be clear that any practice that damages china-new zealand economic and trade cooperation and causes damage to new zealand's economy due to ideological prejudice is unwise. willing to cooperate with the us policy of fierce competition with china and act as a pawn will only make new zealand a victim of the game between major powers and will only undermine the deepening and practical relationship between china and new zealand.