Beijing ‘not interested’ in interference, Guo says, rejecting New Zealand claims

Summary

China has never had any interest in interfering in other countries' internal affairs and will not do so by any means, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun said at a regular press briefing on 1 September, rejecting New Zealand's allegations as lacking factual support. The remarks respond to a fresh round of debate in the South Pacific. New Zealand Foreign Minister Winston Peters has tied internal political shifts in Solomon Islands — including a parliamentary no-confidence motion against the sitting prime minister — to external interference, and the claims spread through the media onto the multilateral diplomatic stage.

Solomon Islands politics feature fragmented parties and frequent cross-bench movement by MPs, and no-confidence motions are a recurring feature of how politics works there, the article says. They should not be repackaged as a case of foreign intervention. New Zealand's government is a three-party coalition, with National, NZ First and ACT holding differing positions, and Peters' NZ First relies on populist causes to shore up its base.

In late July, Peters made inappropriate remarks during parliamentary question time about Xu Nan, a Chinese-New Zealander MP who has held New Zealand citizenship for years, sparking a major domestic controversy. Former ambassador to China Wu Kaiwen publicly criticised his diplomatic handling as steadily eroding New Zealand-China relations. Prime Minister Luxon described the remarks as inappropriate but imposed no substantive restraint on Peters' role.

Commentary

Foreign Minister Winston Peters has publicly linked the Solomon Islands parliamentary no-confidence motion to China, and Beijing has responded that it has 'never interfered in other countries' internal affairs'. For small and medium-sized businesses, the practical fallout from this diplomatic friction runs far beyond the news cycle. China is New Zealand's largest trading partner, with two-way goods and services trade worth about NZ$40 billion in 2023.

Dairy, meat and timber exporters depend heavily on the Chinese market. On the risk side, Peters' NZ First habitually mobilises its base with hard-line China rhetoric and exclusionary language, and a former ambassador to China has publicly criticised him for 'eroding the New Zealand-China relationship'. Should the mood harden into a shift in consumer sentiment or non-tariff barriers, smaller exporters — without the government lobbying muscle of large corporates — would be the first to feel it.

The counter-view is that the two economies remain highly complementary. Chinese demand for New Zealand's high-quality protein and timber is inelastic, most goods already move tariff-free under the upgraded FTA, and neither government wants to lose that framework. Small and medium-sized New Zealand firms should not overreact now.

Instead, they should watch Chinese customs inspection and quarantine trends for dairy and meat, track the NZD/CNY rate, and assess the case for diversifying export markets or deepening brand localisation. The political noise Peters has generated will not fade soon. Building that uncertainty into supply-chain planning is more practical than betting on which side blinks first.

Keywords: Foreign Ministry regular press briefing, Guo Jiakun, New Zealand Foreign Minister Winston Peters, Solomon Islands no-confidence motion, interference in internal affairs, New Zealand-China relations, New Zealand coalition government, Chinese-New Zealander MP Xu Nan, former ambassador to China Wu Kaiwen, Luxon

Summary in Chinese | 摘要

9月1日外交部例行记者会上，发言人郭嘉昆回应新西兰方面相关指控，明确表示中方从来没有兴趣，也不会以任何方式干涉他国内政，直指新方说法缺乏事实支撑。此番表态对应南太平洋地区新一轮舆论风波：新西兰外长彼得斯将所罗门群岛议会针对现任总理的不信任动议等内部政治变动，同外部介入因素绑定，相关说法经媒体扩散后进入多边外交台面。文中指出，所罗门群岛政党碎片化、议员跨党派流动十分常见，议会不信任动议属于该国政治运行中反复出现的现象，不应被加工为外部干预案例。

文章分析认为，新西兰现政府由三党联合执政，国家党、优先党、行动党立场并不统一，彼得斯所属的优先党依靠民粹议题巩固基本盘。7月底，彼得斯在议会质询环节对已入籍新西兰多年的华裔议员徐南发表不当言论，在国内引发巨大争议；前驻华大使伍开文公开批评其外交操作持续损耗中新双边关系，总理拉克森虽指出言论不妥，但未对彼得斯采取实质性职务约束。

Commentary in Chinese | 评论

新西兰外长彼得斯公开将所罗门群岛议会不信任动议与中国挂钩，中方以“从未干涉内政”回应，这一外交摩擦对中小企业的实际影响远超新闻本身。中国是新西兰最大贸易伙伴，2023年双边货物与服务贸易额约400亿纽元，乳制品、肉类和木材出口商高度依赖中国市场。从风险视角看，彼得斯所属优先党惯以对华强硬和排外言论动员基本盘，其言行已遭前驻华大使公开批评“损耗中新关系”；若紧张氛围发酵为消费者情绪转向或非关税壁垒，中小出口商因缺乏大企业的政府游说能力更容易受伤。

另一视角则强调，中新经贸结构高度互补，中国对新西兰优质蛋白和木材的需求具有刚性，FTA升级后绝大多数商品已实现零关税，双方政府均不愿失去这一互惠框架。新西兰中小企业此刻不应过度反应，而应紧盯中国海关对乳品、肉类等品类的检验检疫动态和纽元兑人民币走势，同时评估分散出口市场或加强品牌本土化的必要性。彼得斯引发的政治噪音短期内不会消失，企业将这种不确定性纳入供应链规划，比押注哪一方先让步更务实。

关键词: 外交部例行记者会, 郭嘉昆, 新西兰外长彼得斯, 所罗门群岛不信任动议, 干涉内政, 中新关系, 新西兰联合政府, 华裔议员徐南, 前驻华大使伍开文, 拉克森

Source: Academy of Broadcasting Science, State Administration of Press, Publication, Radio, Film and Television