Kiwi Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern’s meeting with US President Joe Biden did not pleased China

Following her meeting with US President Joe Biden, Chinese President Xi Jinping accused New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern of participating in a “disinformation” campaign.

China has previously favored New Zealand over Australia, but the Chinese Foreign Ministry reacted angrily to a joint statement from Ms Ardern and Mr Biden following Wednesday’s White House meeting.

Following her meeting with US President Joe Biden, China accused Kiwi Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern of participating in a “disinformation” campaign, putting New Zealand in the same boat as Australia.

China has previously favourably contrasted New Zealand to Australia but a joint statement from Ms Ardern and Mr Biden after Wednesday’s White House meeting was met with angry denunciation by the Chinese Foreign Ministry.

China’s NZ ambassador Wang Xiaolong on Thursday followed this by warning that New Zealand should not take its friendly relationship with China ‘for granted’ and make sure it is ‘not squandered’.

New Zealand Foreign Minister Nanaia Mahuta dodged questions over whether there would be an official response to Beijing’s criticims.

‘We want to make sure, in the way we work with China, that the things we say in private are of no surprise when we say it publicly,’ she said.

‘So there are things that we can’t agree on, and we’ve made that clear, but they are of no surprise, and we’ve been very consistent on that front.’

Regarding rising tensions over China’s activities in the Pacific, Ms Mahuta praised Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong’s recent trips to Fiji, Samoa and Tonga.

However, she defended not doing likewise in response to criticism New Zealand is not doing enough to counter China’s regional involvement.

China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi has been on a prolonged diplomatic mission to the area attempting to secure further security agreements following the one the five-year one his country made with the Solomon Islands in April.

 During the election campaign the now prime minister Anthony Albanese said this development made Australia ‘less secure’.

Chinese President Xi Jinping has even weighed in to say China will be ‘a good friend, a good brother and a good partner’ for the Pacific nations.

President Xi shakes hands with Ms Ardern during their meeting at Beijing's Great Hall of the People in 2019 symbolising a relationship between the two countries that up until now had avoided descending in the trade wars that Australia and China have engaged in for two years

Ms Mahuta said New Zealand had a different relationship to the Pacific than Australia, one that was ‘not defined by China and the way that they are conducting their relationship’ in the region and didn’t need to ‘look desperate’.

Australia and China’s relations have been stormy for two years which has led to trade restrictions between the two countries, something New Zealand has avoided.Ms Mahuta has previously warned New Zealand’s exporters that they need to diversify and not just rely on China trade, which is worth $20.1billion.