New Zealand's PM Says Chinese President Xi Is Not A Dictator, Contradicting US President Biden

FILE PHOTO: New Zealand PM Hipkins to visit China end of June  

Reuters: New Zealand PM disagrees with Biden, says Xi Jinping not a 'dictator' 

SYDNEY (Reuters) - New Zealand Prime Minister Chris Hipkins, ahead of his official trip to China at end of this month, said on Thursday he did not agree with U.S. President Joe Biden's remark that Chinese leader Xi Jinping was a dictator. 

"No, and the form of government that China has is a matter for the Chinese people," Hipkins told reporters. 

Asked by a reporter whether the Chinese people had a say in the form of government, Hipkins said: "if they wanted to change their system of government, then that would be a matter for them." 

Hipkins is scheduled to visit China from June 25 to 30, leading a trade delegation that includes some of New Zealand's biggest companies. He will meet Xi Jinping, Premier Li Qiang, and the chairman of the standing committee of the National People's Congress, Zhao Leji.  

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WNU Editor: The U.S. is not backing down .... US Not Backing Down on Biden’s Xi Dictator Comment (VOA). The Chinese are pissed .... Chinese ambassador to US makes ‘strong protests’ to White House over Biden comments (CNN).

New Zealand Defence Forces Warn of Rising Threat From China in Indo-Pacific

Defence Minister Peeni Henare. ROBERT KITCHIN/Stuff  

Reuters: New Zealand Defence Forces Warn of Rising Threat From China in Indo-Pacific 

WELLINGTON (Reuters) - New Zealand's defence forces warned on Wednesday of the security threat from an increasingly powerful China as it assertively pursues its interests in the Indo-Pacific region. 

Growing strategic competition between China, which is New Zealand's biggest trading partner, the United States and other powers will also boost potential for confrontation and conflict in the region, a defence assessment report said. 

"New Zealand faces a world in which strategic competition is increasingly the background for states’ relationships," the report said, adding that China’s rise was the major driver of such competition.  

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Update #1: New Zealand Warns of Rising Threat from China to Indo-Pacific -- Bloomberg  

Update #2: NZ faces dangerous 'grey zone' of more sabotage, foreign interference, major Defence paper warns -- NZHerald  

WNU editor: New Zealand is joining a number of other Asian countries in finally acknowledging the rise of China and the risks that it will entail.

Canada’s Spy Agency Is Warning That New Zealand Has Been Compromised By China

The Canadian report claimed New Zealand’s business and political elite had all been targeted by China’s Communist party. Photograph: POOL New/Reuters

Globe And Mail: CSIS report warns of Chinese interference in New Zealand

Canada’s spy agency is being warned that New Zealand, one of this country’s closest military allies, has been deeply affected by a Chinese government campaign of foreign interference.

The new report from the Canadian Security Intelligence Service cites “a curtailing of freedom of speech, religion and association for the ethnic Chinese community” in New Zealand and a “corrupting influence on the political system through the blurring of personal, political and economic interests.”

“The People’s Republic of China’s political influence activities in New Zealand have now reached a critical level,” according to the report made public this week, only a few days after Canada-China relations suffered a blow when the Trudeau cabinet blocked one of Beijing’s state-owned firms from buying Toronto-based Aecon Group on national-security grounds.

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Update #1: Chinese interference in New Zealand at 'critical' stage, says Canada spy report (The Guardian)
Update #2: China and Russia could be looking for a back door to Western intelligence through the ‘soft underbelly’ of New Zealand (Business Insider)

WNU Editor: If Canada is raising red flags, I can only imagine what the other members Five Eyes are saying.