WELLINGTON, New Zealand: Reflecting 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.
Ardern said China has changed in recent years under President 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 China, the growth of its middle class, a whole range of reasons,” she said.
