Opinion | Jacinta Ardern knows and shows how best to balance her act between China and the rest

By Augustus K. Yeung

INTRODUCTION

New Zealand PM Jacinta Ardern knew that the Associated Press and the Australian AP were out to corner her, how did she turn their jaundiced opinion into a forum for sharing her mind, coping with changes in the Asia-Pacific, dealing with relationships, seizing the 'China market' opportunities, and handling the indigenous Maori issue, while looking forward to her third term in office?

Reflecting on her five years as New Zealand's leader, PM Jacinta Ardern said China had undoubtedly become more "assertive" in the region over that time; she cautioned that building relationships with small Pacific nations shouldn't become a game of "one-upmanship".

Following Ardern long enough, I get to know her Language, Truth and Logic

In a joint interview with Associated Press and the Australian Associate Press, Ardern said China had changed under Xi Jinping.

"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." Ardern said.

"And look, there'll be a whole host of reasons for that. Their integration into the regional economy, the growth of its middle class, a whole range of reasons," she said.

"But you have also seen a more assertive approach on some different issues and relationships. So that undoubtedly has changed over my time in office."

China this year made some bold geopolitical moves in the Pacific, first by signing a security pact with the Solomon Islands and then attempting – without success – to get 10 Pacific nations to sign a sweeping agreement covering everything from security to fisheries.

Those moves have deeply worried some Pacific nations and Western democracies, including the United States. But Ardern rejected criticism that New Zealand did not make its presence felt enough this year as Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi toured Pacific nations courting influence.

"I think if you take a measure of a relationship as solely being: When was the last time you had a politician visit? (What a subtle swipe at former Australian PM Scott Morrison?!) Ardern said. "Our relationships in the Pacific region are family relationships because we are a family, we are of the Pacific."

She said those relationships were built at a community level.

"I think we have to be really cautious about treating our relationships as if it's somehow one-upmanship," Ardern said. "You've got to be consistent in your presence, and New Zealand has been."

Trickily asked if she was recommending farmers and other exporters find markets outside China, which buys more than one-quarter of New Zealand's exports, Ardern said it was about resilience.

For example: Her natural resilience helped her overcome the following crisis.

"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," Ardern said. "We saw that through Covid actually; regardless of the reason, if you see change in a marketplace where you've had a dominant market for any goods or services, that can be problematic," she said.

"If you have a supply chain issue, then it can cause a whole range of issues. This, for us, is about resilience."

Ardern said she had expressed her hopes to visit China to Xi during talks last month on the sidelines of the APEC summit in Bangkok – their first in-person meeting since 2018.

"I do hope to return to China in-person when the settings allow, and I discussed with the president our ambition of taking a trade commission into China early next year – a plan that was welcomed by the president," Jacinta told a meeting of the New Zealand – China Council in Auckland yesterday.

How Did Ardern Handle New Zealand's Indigenous Maori Issue?

New Zealand's indigenous Maori continue to be disproportionally represented in negative statistics, ranging from child poverty to incarceration rates.

Cornered about her record with Maori, Ardern said her government had been making progress.

"We've just come through, or are in the middle of, an enormous economic crisis, and yet we've got some of the lowest Maori unemployment that we've seen," Ardern said.

But an honest Ardern also acknowledged she had faced backlash on some contentious indigenous issues. Those include everything from settlements negotiated under New Zealand's founding document, the Treaty of Waitangi, to a push to teach more Maori history and language in schools.

Ardern faces a general election next year as she seeks a third term in office. (Source: AP/Reuter)

CONCLUSION

What has Ardern skillfully done to bridge the US-China rivalry gap?

Ardern has refused to join in the accusations of China on the human rights issue in Xinjiang by speaking to her parliament, logically refuting the accusation.

She has not refrained from offering sincere advice to China, cautioning it to be aware of "one-upmanship" in dealing with Pacific nations, which have had a long history with Australia and New Zealand, and the US, triggering their sense of security as Wang Yi made the unexpected trips and attempting to clinch deals with the islanders.

Ardern is adopting a perspective from her region, which her Chinese trade-partner may have neglected.

She has also used the language of being cozy with Xi Jinping by asking for a high-level trade mission to Beijing as early as next year. It pleases the president.

She did not duck the issue that the Maori minority has presented. She frankly admitted that "progress" has been made. But she could have brought out the Maori philosophy of cosmopolitanism, which accordingly to New Zealand scholars is highly compatible with Confucianism, a weapon she can use now when explaining her friendly stance on China, and later campaigning for her third term in office.

Summarily, Ardern is doing a wonderful job by performing a fine balancing act between an economically assertive China and the politically over sensitive West. Her respect for Maori culture is exemplary.

The author is a freelance writer; formerly Adjunct Lecturer, taught MBA Philosophy of Management, and International Strategy, and online columnist of 3-D Corner (HKU SPACE), University of Hong Kong.

 

The views do not necessarily reflect those of DotDotNews.

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