Foreign Minister Winston Peters’ attacks on Green MP Lawrence Xu-Nan, which were described by National Minister Simeon Brown as “racist”, are fast becoming a diplomatic incident.
Peters broadened his attacks on Xu-Nan today to extend to generalisations about China and the Chinese.
That provoked a cautiously worded statement from the Chinese Ambassador.
Peters responded to that with a post on social media calling the Ambassador a “pearl clutcher” and “communist shill.”
That did it.
The Chinese Embassy then lodged a formal diplomatic protest with New Zealand’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade, the highest level of complaint against the New Zealand government beyond withdrawing their Embassy that is available to the Chinese.
Last night a spokesperson for Peters issued a statement saying he stood by his comments and somewhat implausibly then added: “The Minister is a long-standing custodian of the New Zealand-China relationship, having made seven official visits to China – most recently in late 2025.”
But how many times he might have visited China is not the issue.
The Chinese Government and its Embassy well know that he has a long track record of attacking Chinese migrants to New Zealand.
And in his most recent comments he has conflated his attack on a migrant (Xu-Nan) with a broader attack on the Chinese people and Government.
This sort of thing is not new from Peters.
The late Jim Bolger in the mid-1990s often referred to Peters as a racist because of his attacks on Asian migrants coming to Auckland.
“The speech the member gave to launch his party sought to curry the racist, anti-foreign mood in a small sector of New Zealand, and he knows it,” he said on one occasion in 1996.
In Parliament in 1996 Peters clashed with Bolger over promises Bolger had made during the 1990 election campaign.
Bolger’s reply was acidic.
“I am very familiar with the commitment I gave to the country when that Member was a Member of the National Party – but thank god he isn’t now, he’s now joined the racist party – but Mr Speaker – no, he leads the racist party,” Bolger said.
The current Prime Minister, Christopher Luxon, has been more circumspect.
He issued a statement yesterday in his role as National Party leader, saying “Winston Peters has a long track record of inappropriate attention-seeking comments designed to get the media and other politicians to talk about him instead of the issues Kiwis are facing. This is another example of that.
“To our Kiwi-Chinese community, National and I back you, and to every New Zealander who wants representatives focused on the issues that matter to you, rather than attention-seeking for cheap headlines, Party Vote National.”
But Luxon’s problems with Peters are not as a political rival but as a senior member of his own Cabinet and Minister of Foreign Affairs.
His comments must be regarded by foreign countries as official New Zealand policy and the very fact that the Chinese have lodged a formal protest indicates they do..
The current saga started when Xu Nan interjected during a speech Peters was making during the General Debate in the House on Wednesday.
“Go back to your own country—that’s where they lie like a flatfish, but they don’t lie like that here, all right?” Peters said.
“This is called a democracy—this is called a democracy, unlike what you’re used to.”
Then Ambassador Wang Xialong tweeted yesterday in response to Peters’ comments in the House.
“We have absolutely no interest in being dragged into the domestic politics of other countries,” he posted.
“Suffice it to say, sometimes, a statement says more about the person that makes it than anything or anybody else.”
Peters tweeted back in response: “The Chinese Ambassador’s comments have just proven the point I made in the House yesterday.
“No amount of pearl clutching and faux outrage is going to change it.
“We live in a democracy that includes free speech and rights – those two values that other certain countries not only limit but do so with force.
“If you want to compare what our free democratic country has – in particular our Parliament – then go back and see what it’s like in those communist and dictatorship countries and look for yourself.
“I will not resile from that point, and New Zealanders should not resile from it.
“If that offends the pearl clutchers and the communist shills labelling it as ‘dangerous’ – welcome to New Zealand.”
China lodged a formal démarche (protest) about Peters’ comments with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade late yesterday.
The Embassy issued a brief statement.
“On July 30, a relevant official in charge of the Chinese Embassy in New Zealand lodged solemn representations with the New Zealand Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade over the negative China-related remarks made by a certain politician in the New Zealand Parliament,” it said.
“The Embassy side urged the New Zealand side to value the equal and mutually beneficial relationship between China and New Zealand and to do more things conducive to bilateral relations rather than the other way around.
“It emphasised that the absolute majority of members of the Chinese community in New Zealand abide by local laws, actively integrate into the mainstream society, and have made important contributions to New Zealand’s economic and social development, and therefore deserve to be recognised and respected.
“The Embassy called on the New Zealand side to respect and safeguard their legitimate rights and interests, and to create an open, inclusive and non-discriminatory environment for them to study, live and work in New Zealand.”
Meanwhile, in China, Peters’ comments were highlighted in the daily Foreign Ministry Press conference.
Mao Ning, the spokesperson from China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said debates in the New Zealand Parliament were New Zealand’s internal affairs.
“China does not comment on that,” she said.
“We have noted that people from various sectors in New Zealand, including Prime Minister Christopher Luxon, have criticised the remarks made by the individual concerned.
“China consistently advocates respect for the development paths and political systems independently chosen by the people of all countries and opposes all forms of discrimination and prejudice.
“We hope the relevant people in New Zealand will do more to promote friendship between China and New Zealand, rather than use China as a talking point in domestic politics.”
The Global Times, a daily tabloid under the auspices of the Chinese Communist Party’s flagship newspaper, the People’s Daily, quoted Chen Hong, the director of the New Zealand Studies Centre, East China Normal University, who said: “As the leader of the New Zealand First party, Peters has consistently championed issues such as ‘New Zealanders first’ and tighter immigration controls, using identity politics to appeal to voters and deepen divisions between ‘us’ and ‘them ‘.”
Chen said the foreign minister’s remarks had turned a policy debate into an identity-based attack, and that such a move could appeal to some conservative and nationalist voters. While such tactics might generate attention in the short term, they risked further deepening social divisions in the long run, he noted.
The Global Times added: “Chen emphasised that Peters’ racist remarks have exposed the lingering undercurrents of xenophobia and racism in New Zealand’s political circle, despite the country’s long-standing promotion of diversity and tolerance.
“He said that, as New Zealand heads into an election year, anti-foreigner sentiments and doubts over the identity of Asian communities, particularly Chinese people, tend to resurface whenever political, economic and social pressures mount, especially amid heightened political competition.”
There were growing calls last night for Peters to be dismissed as Foreign Minister.
Former Prime Minister Helen Clark said: “This has gone over too many lines now; you could not feel that the relationship with China can be adequately managed by Winston Peters. You expect the foreign minister to manage relationships. Diplomacy is the job”
And a former Ambassador to China, Carl Worker, tweeted: “The National Party needs to reflect on whether it could possibly afford another term with an unashamedly racist Foreign Minister perfectly prepared to undermine our relations with Asia’s two largest and most opportunity-filled economies, China and India.
“How could the Prime Minister expect to be taken seriously in our region when he was responsible for appointing such a creature to another term of office as Foreign Minister?
“At a minimum, Christopher Luxon should make clear forthwith that he would not appoint Winston Peters to any further term as Minister of Foreign Affairs in any potential future coalition government post-election.”
That in fact may be the Prime Minister’s intention.
Both within New Zealand First and National there has been speculation recently that Peters might not want another term as Foreign Minister with its arduous travel demands.
He recently had a hip replacement and apparently finds protracted periods standing up or walking challenging.
The Prime Minister may therefore have decided simply to grin and bear his Foreign Minister’s eccentricities until the election is over, when (if he retains power) he can appoint someone else to the job.
Whether the Chinese are prepared to be that phlegmatic is another matter.
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