The New Zealand parliament’s unanimous declaration last week that human rights abuses were occurring in China’s Xinjiang province drew condemnation from Beijing, but the removal of the term “genocide” suggested Wellington is unwilling to jeopardise relations, analysts said.
The experts also said the attempt to find a middle ground between New Zealand’s largest trading partner and its “Five Eyes” intelligence-sharing alliance – which includes the US, Britain, Australia and Canada, who have all criticised China’s human rights record – will not be lost on Beijing.
Liu Zhiqin, a senior fellow of the Chongyang Institute for Financial Studies at the Renmin University of China, said there was a “fundamental difference” between Wellington’s position and attempts by Western countries to “interfere in Xinjiang”.
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