Home > Bilateral Relations
China’s Foreign Policy and China-New Zealand Relations in the New Era
Ambassador Wang Xiaolong’s Speech at NZIIA 14 November 2022
2022-11-14 17:04

Distinguished Guests,

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Good Evening!

First, let me thank NZIIA for organizing the event and inviting me to speak this evening. As one of the most prestigious Kiwi think tanks, theInstitute has been an essential platform for the exchange of views and ideas on New Zealand’s foreign relations and what happens in our world more broadly. I would like to take this opportunity to share with you my perspectiveson China’s foreign policy and China-New Zealand relations.

I

I shall begin with China’s foreign policy, which, like the foreign policy of other countries including New Zealand, is largely an extension or a function of its domestic affairs. One can hardlyhave a full grasp of China’s diplomacy without getting to knowthe country’s overall development goals and plans.

About a month ago, the Communist Party of China convened its 20th National Congress, when General-Secretary Xi Jinping delivered a report, whichon the basis of reflections on the progress China made in the past decades and the lessons we have learnt from that journey, charts the way forward for the country in the next five years and beyond, laying out China’s domestic and foreign policies and strategic intentions in an open and transparent manner. The report is arguably the best guide to understanding contemporary China and where the country would go from here both domestically and in terms of its external relations.

The report reaffirms that the fundamental and central task of China’s future development is to realize the Second Centenary Goal of building China into a great modern socialist country in all respects and to advance the rejuvenation of the Chinese nation through a Chinese path to modernization. In more mundane words, the top priority for the Chinese Communist Party and Government is STILL to pursue economic development with a view to meeting the aspirations of the Chinese people for progressively better lives.

There have been allegations that China has pivoted away from economic development as its central mission, which is, I can assure you,a misconception or misrepresentation of China’s policy stance.

The report clearly states that development continues to be, as it has always beensince the start of reform and opening-up, the paramount task for the Party in its drive to rejuvenate the nation. It follows that we will continue to focus on promoting high-quality economic development as the organizing theme for all our pursuits.

The centrality of development is determined by what we call the principal contradiction or the primary challenge facing China, namely, the gap between unbalanced and inadequate development and the people’s ever-growing needs for a better life.

In line with this central task, the report projects a vision for the country in the next five years, through 2035, up until mid-century, and identifies the long-term and structural policy frameworks as well as the necessary institutional backstops in different areas to deliver on that vision.  

China’s diplomacy is there to serve and support the realization of that vision. Our commitment to upholding world peace, promoting common development and prosperity, and building a global community with a shared futureis first and foremost requisite to help create a peaceful and favorable external environment for our own development to take place. It also coheres with China’s  traditionof acting in good faith, making friends of all, and fostering good-neighborliness. In addition, the CPC, since its inception 100 years ago, has taken it upon itself to promote progress for humanity on top of pursuing happiness for the Chinese people. The adoption of such a foreign policy is by no means a choice of convenience. Rather, it is a long-term, strategic, and fundamental decision.

The report also points out that seeking peaceful development is a defining feature of the Chinese path to modernization. Again, we shall strive to safeguard world peace and promote development to enable our own development, which will, in turn, empower us to make a greater contribution to the wider global cause. China has never bullied or invaded others, and will never do so. No matter what stage of development it reaches, China will never seek hegemony or engage in expansionism.

We have, though, a saying in Chinese: the trees want to stay still, but the wind keeps blowing. We are witnessing turmoil in our world, as it is undergoing profound and drastic transformations unseen in a century. Coalescing with a sluggish world economy and acute global challenges, these changes have given rise to increasing uncertainties, risks and even outright dangers.  

Indeed, the world today is hardly a very peaceful place. Power politics and hegemonism are on the rise. A small number of countries blatantly bully and interfere in the internal affairs of others, create divisions and confrontations, and even stoke conflicts and wars. It is particularly concerning that, on war and peace, what used to be unthinkable seems increasingly less inconceivable. Contrary to what these countries often claim, rather than “live and let live”, they apparently believe in “live and let die”. Out of a zero-sum mindset, they do not want to see other countries develop.Even worse, they proactively hinder, suppress, and contain other countries through sanctions, barriers, blockades, disruption or even severance of supply chains, and decoupling, in order to maintain their own dominance. They practise unilateralism and undermine the multilateral system, international law, and broadly accepted norms of international relations, eroding the mutual trust and the institutional foundation which are essential if we are to address global issues through global cooperation.

Such egregious behaviors, albeit by a small number of countries,not only pose challenges to China’sdevelopment, and also seriously damage the interests of the international community as a whole.

The world has come to yet another crossroads, and its future will be decided by all countries’ respective and collective decisions. As far as we are concerned, the report to the Party Congress clearly proclaims:

China remains firm in pursuing an independent foreign policy of peace. Accordingly, we will always decide our position and policy on issues based on their own merits, uphold the basic norms governing international relations, and safeguard global fairness and justice.

China will adhere to the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence in seeking to establish friendly relations with ALL other countries in the world. China will want to challenge or compete against no one. Rather, we want to work with everyone to deepen and expand global partnerships based on equality, openness, and mutual benefit.

China will play an active part in global governance, practice true multilateralism, and promote peace, development, and extensive cooperation in addressing global challenges such as climate change and pandemic response and preparedness.

China is committed to its fundamental national policy of opening up to the outside world, and will contribute to building an open world economy that facilitates the development of all countries, particularly developing ones.

President Xi Jinping has stated on many occasions that “China’s door will never close. It will only open wider”. At the opening ceremony of the fifth China International Import Expo a few days ago, President Xi further pointed out that China will work with all countries and all parties to share the opportunities from its vast market, from its institutional opening-up, and from deepened international cooperation.

In a nutshell, the 20th National Congress of the CPC  has drawn up a blueprint for China’s future development. An open and steadily growing China, a China that is committed to promoting world peace and development and addressing global challenges, and a China that seeks win-win cooperation will continue to offer new opportunities for the world and lend stability and certainty to the otherwise turbulent and increasingly uncertain international landscape.

II

Next, I would like to discuss briefly three issuesthat may be of interest to New Zealand foreign policy circles and that are relevant to China-New Zealand relationship.

First, values and foreign policy.

This issue has come up frequently in recent discourse on international relations and foreign policy. Indeed, every country has its own values, which are inevitably reflected in its domestic and foreign policies. The values of a country, a nation, or a society are the product or function of its circumstances, including its history, culture and social system.It should be no surprise therefore that differences in national conditions might lead to divergences invalues, so that the values across the world have been, and will continue to be diverse by nature. In this sense, history has not ended and never will.  In fact, attempts to unify the world with a particular and uniform set of values have never succeeded. Instead, they have, without exception, ended in tragedy.

Asthefamous German philosopher Hegel observed, however, “the only thing that we learn from history is that we learn nothing from history.”  The way the world has evolved suggests unfortunately that the there are countries in today’s world trying to judge other countries by their own values and divide the world along values-based fault-lines. Some go as far as attempting to impose their own values on other countries. Values have even been weaponizedto suppress other countries to maintaindominance or hegemony, which has become a root cause of risinginstability and uncertainty in the world. One of the biggest challenges facing the international community would thus be how to make sure that countries with different values and political and social systems can coexist and cooperate with one another. We have to, for the alternative would be a recipe for disaster.

We should also acknowledge that even between seemingly very different value systems, there might be  many commonalitiesor similarities, which constitute the basis for different countries to coexist peacefully and even harmoniously, cooperate for mutual benefits, and join hands to address common challenges.

That is why China recognizes and cherishes the role of values in international relations and advocates “thehumanity’s shared values of peace, development, fairness, justice, democracy and freedom, as a cornerstone for building a community of shared future for mankind.

The humanity’s shared values advocated by China are different from the "universal values" advocated by some countries. The so-called universal valuesistop-down, self-centered, arrogant and even hegemonic, and their essence is to use ones own valuesas a mold to shape other countries or even the whole world into one model. In contrast, humanity’s shared values” isbottom-up, based on equality and mutual respect,and as a result democratic, recognizing and respecting the diversity between countries, and on that basis, finding the common denominator or denominators among them. The latter approach would also allow for some of the same concepts, such as democracy and freedom, to be interpreted and applied in different countries in ways aligned with their own respective national context. This is what the ancient Chinese called harmony amidst diversity.

Such harmony amidst diversity is not only necessary, but also possible. Although we are different from one another, at the end of the day, our commonalities and common interests far outweigh our divergences. As long as we treat each other on the basis of mutual respect and equality, and refrain from imposing on others, we can then have coexistence rather then conflict, dialogue rather than estrangement, and mutual learning rather than arrogance.

Chinas choice for values, social system, and path to modernity are made by our own people based on our own history, culture, and realities. And these choices have been proven to be suitable and effective to solve Chinas problems and meet the needs of the Chinesepeople. There is no reason whatsoever why we should not adhere to them unswervingly down the road.

By the same token, China respects the choices made by other peoples based on THEIR national conditions and will never attempt to use our values as a yardstick to judge or change others, much less to impose on them. China stands ready to conduct dialogues and exchanges on the basis of mutual respect and non-interference in each others’ internal affairs to promote mutual understanding and mutual learning. We reject, however, finger-pointing or lecturing, or attempts by anyone to impose their values and systems upon us.

The second issue I wish to talk about is international rules and international order.

The importance of international rules and order goes without saying, all the more so at a time when the world is beset by sharp contradictions and unprecedented challenges. Without fair and effective international rules and order, the world will revert to the era of the law of the jungle. In this regard, one narrative that is heard constantly these days is the imperative for us to uphold and abide by a rules-based international order. What is meant here? What and whose order? And what and whose rules? Is that what we need?

In this connection, I would like to stress four points from China’s angle.

First, international rules and order should, by definition, be international, meaning that they should be  based on, conform to and serve the common interests of the international community, rather than the  narrow self interests of one or a few countries.

Second, international rules and order should be jointly formulated and upheld, through equal participation and consultation, by the international community rather than by one or a few countries.

Third, China and the overwhelming majority of members of the international community acknowledge and support the international system with the United Nations at its core, the international order based on international law, and the basic norms governing international relations based on the purposes and principles of the UN Charter.

The reason why they are widely subscribed to by the international community is that the international rules and order they represent not only embody democracy and inclusiveness, fairness and justice, but also have proven to be the most effective in practice.

If the so-called rules and order are merely the domestic laws of one or a few countries, or the private rules laid down by an exclusive small group of countries, and if a few countries use THEIR own rules and order as a bludgeon to sanction or damage others, and coerce others to choose sides, then I am afraid it is essentially unilateralism masquerading as multilateralism,or brazen bullying for self-interest in the name of fairness and impartiality.

Fourth, compliance with and maintenance of international rules and order is a shared obligation and responsibility of all countries. Once the commonly-accepted rules are in place, all countries, rather than only the small and weak, should comply with them, and should do so consistently, rather than only when compliance suits one’s narrow interests.

China and New Zealand share a common or similar position on supporting multilateralism, the United Nations and international law. We should strengthen communication and coordination, and together with the majority of the international community, act as builders of world peace, contributors to global development, and upholders of international order.

The third issue I want to discuss here is the Taiwan question and Chinas reunification.

Briefly, three observations in the context of the CPC 20th National Congress Reports pronouncement on the Taiwan question.

First, the essence and crux of the Taiwan question is China’s sovereignty and territorial integrity. Either from historical or legal perspectives, Taiwan is unquestionably part of China, and the people on both sides of the Taiwan Strait belong to the same family of Chinese people. From the international instruments on the post-war order at the end of World War II, to UNGA Resolution 2758, to the political commitments made by more than 170 countries upon establishing diplomatic relations with China, the status of Taiwan is crystal clear: namely, there is but one China in the world, Taiwan is an inalienable part of China, and the Government of the People’s Republic of China is the sole legal government representing the whole of China. This trifecta lies at the heart of the one China principle, which is widely accepted international consensus and the political foundation for China’s bilateral relations with other countries in the world.

Second, solving the Taiwan question and achieving the complete reunification of the motherland is the common aspiration of all Chinese, and an essential requirement for the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation. The CPC 20th National Congress Report further clarifies our overall strategy on the Taiwan question and sets forth in its relation two lists, one positive and the other negative.

The positive list refers to what we proactively promote, including the reaffirmation that peaceful reunification and one country, two systems is the best way to achieve reunification, and the affirmation of our continued efforts to promote cross-strait exchanges and cooperation with the utmost sincerity and efforts, and to promote extensive cross-strait consultations for the prospect of peaceful reunification.

The negative listencapsulates what we resolutely oppose and would thus want to prevent, including most prominently two inviolable red lines that must not be crossed, namely one, intervention by external forces, and two, secession or independence of Taiwan from China by a small number of separatists. To forestall these two scenarios,the Report reiterates the long-held position that China will never undertake to renounce the use of force and retains the option to take all necessary measures.

These two lists combine to illustrate clearly that our policy of peaceful reunification is unwavering and unchanged, and at the same time, our resolve to safeguard our national sovereignty and territorial integrity is unwavering and unchanged. They have been our consistent policy across successive generations of leadership and government. The false narrative being spinned by someregarding China having changed its policy on Taiwan is nothing but an attempt at smearing China, to create tension, division, confrontation,and even war across the Taiwan Strait and in the Asia-Pacific region. Their ulterior motive is to use this as cover and justification for maintaining their hegemony, even at the expense of peace and stability in the Asia-Pacific region. If you read the 20th National Congress report, you will find theirnarrative ill-founded. We believe that countries in the Asia-Pacific region understand the stakes involved and will form their judgments that serve their best interests.

Third, adherence to the one-China principle is the best guarantee for maintaining peace in the Taiwan Strait. Conversely, violationof or deviation from the one-China principle, will pose a direct threat to peace in the Taiwan Strait and negatively impact peace and stability in the Asia-Pacific region. Conflict or war in the Taiwan Strait isno doubt the last thing China wants to see because Taiwan is part of our home, and people in Taiwan are our fellow countrymen.Nor is conflict or war in the interests of the parties in the Asia-Pacific region, including New Zealand.

Not long ago, thevisit to Taiwan by US HouseSpeaker Nancy Pelosi and the subsequent further provocations by the US directly led to a sharp riseintensions across the Taiwan Strait, which also posed serious risks to peace and stability in the Asia-Pacific region. We hope that the US side will act responsibly, cease their unjustified and uncalled-for provocations and return to the one-China principle they themselves have committed to. China also hopes that all countries that support peace in the Taiwan Strait and are concerned with peace and stability in theregion will work together to ensure compliance with the one-China principle and to oppose provocations in violation of the one-China principle, which is in the common interest of all parties concerned.

III

Finally, let me turn to China-New Zealand relations.

We shall soon be celebrating 50 years of our diplomatic relationship, which is an important milestone for both countries. Looking back,our relations have indeed come a long way , by any measure or any standard, as a result of tremendous efforts on both sides, bringing material tangible benefits to both countries, particularly the two peoples.

As compared with 50 years ago,we are seeing between us todaymore frequent and closer high-level political exchanges, exponentially stronger economic and trade ties, deeper people-to-people links, and better communication on international and regional affairs. Many firsts have been created along the way, making China-New Zealand relationship a clear leader in China’s relations with the western developed countries.

The entry into force earlier in the year of RCEP and the Upgrade Protocol of the China-New Zealand Free Trade Agreement has injected new impetus into our cooperation. According to the Statistics New Zealand, our bilateral trade in 2021 reached 37.7 billion NZD. In the first three quarters of this year, it has surpassed 29 billion NZD, with an increase of 13.3% year-on-year, showcasing the depth and resilience of our practical cooperation.

Since day one of our diplomatic relations, our common interests and differences have always coexisted with each other. However, the half-century of cooperation between China and New Zealand has amply demonstrated what we have in common far outweighs our differences. Despite the changes in our respective countries and around us in the world, common interests and mutually beneficial cooperation remain the mainstream of China-New Zealand relations.

Let me give you some examples.

Both sides put our peoplefront and center.

Both are committed to maintaining peace and stability and promoting common development and prosperity.

Both support free trade and an open world economy.

Both support multilateralism and international cooperation to tackle global challenges.

Both pride ourselves on independence in our foreign policy.

And both oppose military alliances, taking sides and targeting third partiesor subjecting ourselves to themin conducting our relations.

These commonalities between us provide the two countries with a solid basis and ample space to cooperate both at a bilateral level and internationally.

In a world with growing uncertainties, it isno surprise that China-New Zealand relations are facing more challenges as well. However, the greater the uncertainties around us, the more certainties we should jointly create for each other through closer cooperation on the way forward. The aim is to benefit our peoples, address common challenges, and at the same time,contribute to world peace and prosperity.

Meanwhile, we have no intentions of shying away from our differences or divergences. Rather, we stand ready to resolve and manage our differences through constructive dialogues rather than Mega-phone diplomacy to ensure, in the words of PM Ardern, that differences would not be allowed to define our relationship. In this sense, managing differences is at least as important as expanding cooperation because China-New Zealand relationship is an organic whole, different parts of which interact with one another.  

In this connection, it is useful to note that optics and perceptionsare important as they will shape people’s perspectives, which may, in turn, substantially impact the substance of the relationship. Thus, national branding, based on by wide public perception, is a central variant in the equation of relations between states. In China, there is widespread cognizance of New Zealand as a green, clean, open, and friendly country. This very positive national branding is one of the most valuable assets and arguably one of the strongest pillars for our relationship.

One recent example of national branding at work relates to CIIE, which has just concluded over the weekend. In the short space of a week, I have seen as least three separate reports in CCTV primetime news on the Expo that contains a substantial element on products from New Zealand. Publicity can hardly get any better than this in China, and it is free. It is palpable in the reactions from the people interviewed that the mere mention of New Zealand would strike a chord, which largely underpins the increasing trajectory of contractual values for New Zealand export to China at the Expo or otherwise, and is extremely gratifying to me as ambassador to the country.

We need to bear in mind, though, that such a reputation has been gradually built up with hard work over the years from both sides and hence should be carefully nurtured and protected. That requires inputs from governments, including our political leaders through, among other things, their public messaging, from competent and responsible media, and from members of the public on both sides.

Looking ahead to the next 50 years of China-New Zealand relations and beyond, we hope both countrieswould cherish the hard-won historical achievements and seize new opportunities to expand our partnership. We should work together to implement the consensus reached by our leaders, meet the aspirations of the two peoples, and bring our relations to new heights, so that we can better benefit our two peoples and make greater contributions to the world. While maintaining the current positive momentum of our practical cooperation, we could as well tap the potentialsoffered by new areas of collaboration, including climate change, sustainable agriculture, bio-medicine, and broad scientific and technological innovation. We should continue to facilitate exchanges at all levels, jointly uphold multilateralism, maintain international and regional peace and stability, support common development, and thus, give increasing substance to the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership between us.

Before concluding, I want to emphasize again that China’s expectation for the development of China-New Zealand relations has not, and will not change; China’s firm commitment to deepening friendship between our two countries has not, and will not change; and China’s sincere aspiration to work with New Zealand to promote peace, stability, and development in the world has not, and will not change.I firmly believe that China-New Zealand relations have great potentials and a promising future and that our cooperation is in the interest of both sides and the whole world. We look forward to working with the New Zealand side to bring about that common brighter future for both countries!

Thank you!



Suggest to a Friend:   
Print