Trans-Tasman tensions over China

Abstract

Australia and New Zealand are close allies but are responding differently to rising Chinese power and influence in the Asia-Pacific. This, in turn, has increased trans-Tasman tensions in several areas. Australia has emphasised its ideological differences with China and has remained critical of China even as the country has imposed economic sanctions on Australian exports. New Zealand’s approach has been ambiguous, with Wellington far less likely than Canberra to criticise China publicly, in part because it is more vulnerable to potential Chinese economic retaliation.