Chinese State-Run Media Jumps on New Zealand PM’s Softening Stance Towards Beijing

NZ Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern speaks during a joint press conference with Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese in Sydney, Australia, on July 8, 2022. Lisa Maree Williams/Getty Images

Chinese state-run media has noted New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern’s softer stance towards China in her recent major foreign policy speech.

The Global Times, a Chinese regime mouthpiece, claimed in an article that this softer language towards Beijing signalled that Australia’s “wishful thinking” to “rally” New Zealand against China had stalled.