But this reading of the current international situation and its impact on New Zealand foreign policy is wide of the mark. It shares many of the concerns of close allies about the threat of authoritarian states to an international rules-based order. New Zealand not only seeks to defend the international rules-based order, it wants to strengthen it. Xi Jinping’s regime has diplomatically backed the Kremlin and recently declared Putin’s Ukraine invasion was “legitimate”. Chance to advance bilateral trade talksThe NATO meeting will also facilitate bilateral meetings with European leaders on some crucial trade questions.

Source: New Zealand Herald June 27, 2022 06:52 UTC