Chinese Premier Li and New Zealand’s Luxon hail close ties as they sign trade deals in Wellington

By CHARLOTTE GRAHAM-McLAY
Associated Press

WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) — Chinese Premier Li Qiang has met with New Zealand Prime Minister Christopher Luxon in Wellington, where the two leaders played up the ability of “good friends” to respectfully disagree — while publicly diverging on little. Li, China’s No. 2 official, is the first Chinese premier to visit New Zealand since a 2017 visit by Li Keqiang. New Zealand has in recent years struck a more moderate tone with Beijing on security matters than many of its Western partners — including the U.S., U.K., Australia and Canada — and has sought a consistent foreign policy approach to Beijing that spans political parties and administrations.