CHINA made a diplomatic protest to New Zealand on Thursday (July 30) after Foreign Minister Winston Peters characterised a Chinese-born lawmaker as a "loudmouth" whom he urged to "go back to your own country" during a debate in parliament.
Peters, the leader of the populist New Zealand First party, made the remarks during Wednesday's (July 29) debate on the government's response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
"A statement says more about the person that makes it than anything or anybody else," Wang Xiaolong, the Chinese ambassador to New Zealand, wrote on X. In a statement on Thursday, the Chinese embassy said an official made solemn representations about the "negative China-related remarks" at a meeting with New Zealand's foreign affairs ministry.
Peters had responded to heckling from Lawrence Xu-Nan, a lawmaker from the Green Party born in the northern Chinese city of Tianjin but who grew up in East Auckland, with advice to "go back to your own country".
The remarks drew rebukes from fellow lawmakers, including Prime Minister Christopher Luxon, who criticised the "inappropriate attention-seeking comments", media said.
China is New Zealand's biggest trading partner, with two-way trade exceeding NZ$41 billion (US$23.83 billion) in the year ending September 2025.
