New Zealand PM Ardern says China has become 'more assertive'
The HinduReflecting on her five years as New Zealand's leader, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said China has undoubtedly become more assertive in the region over that time but cautioned that building relationships with small Pacific nations shouldn't become a game of one-upmanship. “I think if I stand back and look at the region as a whole and some of the changes that we’ve seen within our region, you do see a more assertive China,” Ms. Ardern said. “You've got to be consistent in your presence, and New Zealand has been.” Asked if she was recommending that farmers and other exporters find markets outside of China, which buys more than one-quarter of New Zealand's exports, Ms. Ardern said it was a question of resilience. “We’ve actually, from the moment we came into office, been focused on what has been previously characterized as diversification, but what I would say is resilience,” Ms. Ardern said. “We've just come through, or are in the middle of, an enormous economic crisis, and yet we've got some of the lowest Māori unemployment that we've seen,” Ms. Ardern said.
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New Zealand's Jacinda Ardern says China has changed under President Xi, has become 'more assertive'
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