The country’s intelligence agencies may have just blown up the prospects of the continuing return of Chinese tourists to New Zealand.
The Chinese Embassy yesterday issued exactly the sort of warning to potential tourists that you would expect after one of their citizens was stopped and harassed by Security Intelligence Agents at a New Zealand airport.
This would appear to be part of a long-term campaign by the agencies to call into question New Zealand’s relationship with China.
In doing this, they have received tacit support from both the Foreign Minister and their own Minister, Judith Collins, while the Prime Minister, who only three months ago was in Beijing promoting tourism to New Zealand, has stood by.
Ironically, as the agencies get closer and closer to the United States’ view of China, the US intelligence agencies themselves have cut New Zealand off from intelligence about Ukraine.
But the immediate consequence must surely be the impact on tourism.
The Chinese Embassy yesterday issued a statement saying a Chinese citizen, when transiting at a New Zealand airport, was subjected to harassment and interrogation without cause by NZ security and intelligence agency personnel.
His personal digital devices were confiscated, and some of them have not been returned to date.
“Previously, there have been several reported cases of Chinese citizens experiencing similar harassment during entry or transit in New Zealand,” the statement said.
The fact that the Chinese citizen was transiting a New Zealand airport makes the case particularly embarrassing for the Prime Minister, Christopher Luxon, who in June in Shanghai launched the so-called “Southern Link”, an air route from Shanghai to Buenos Aires via Auckland.
This would have the Chinese passengers transit Auckland en route to and from Argentina.
The flights are due to begin on December 4, and whilst the passengers are expected to only transit through Auckland, in Shanghai, Luxon was almost gushing about their value.
“It’s a smart, strategic move that strengthens our links with two major regions and reinforces Auckland’s role as a world-class transit hub,” he said.
“Today is good news for travellers, it’s good news for businesses, it is good for freight and cargo, it’s good for the airline and also the airport, and it’s fantastic news for both New Zealand and China.
“I say congratulations again to both companies. (China Eastern and Auckland Airport)
“Thank you for your partnership.
“We know we will advance our relationships and economic interests between our two great countries.”
But the Chinese Embassy has now lodged a protest with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade, which “deplores the unwarranted conduct and harassment by relevant agencies.”
The Embassy’s statement said it demanded “that such wrongful acts cease immediately, that Chinese citizens’ lawful rights and interests be earnestly respected and that a safe, fair, and non-discriminatory environment be provided for the Chinese students, tourists, and other travellers entering or transiting through New Zealand.
“The Chinese side reserves the right to make further responses.”
But the real damage to New Zealand may well come from a warning the Embassy has issued to potential tourists to New Zealand.
“Meanwhile, the Chinese Embassy and Consulates-General in New Zealand remind all Chinese students, tourists, and other travellers planning to visit, transit through New Zealand, or currently in the country to remain vigilant and take necessary preparations before entering or exiting New Zealand,” the warning said.
“The Embassy asks them to promptly contact the Chinese Embassy or Consulates-General in New Zealand for assistance upon encountering any harassment, discriminatory treatment, or infringement of their lawful rights and interests.”
Perhaps the saving grace for New Zealand might be that despite the Embassy statement in Wellington, the official spokesperson for China’s Minsitry of Foreign Affairs had not been briefed on the matter when he gave his daily media briefing yesterday afternoon.
That could indicate it is not a priority for Beijing.
The Prime Minister yesterday was unwilling to talk about the Embassy’s protest.
“I don’t talk about security issues,” he said.
“But I would say that we know that all Chinese visitors, as I did on my trip up to China, are very warmly welcome in New Zealand, and I think they really very much enjoy New Zealand, and we long hope that that continues.”
Media: “Except for one who was obviously stopped and not welcomed?”
“Well, I won’t talk about security issues as I’ve said before.”
Foreign Minister Winston Peters was similarly non-committal.
“We expect people to come to this country no matter where they come from to abide by the law, and also it’s an NZSIS matter, you’re going to have to ask them,” he said.
Peters would not elaborate on what his statement about abiding by the law might have meant.
The Minister in charge of the security agencies, Judith Collins, was similarly dismissive when she was asked about the Embassy’s statement, which had been placed on the Embassy website.
“I’m not responsible for what they put on the website, but I will say, we’re a sovereign nation, we look out for our borders,” she said.
Chinese tourist numbers to New Zealand are currently in recovery and continue to grow, reaching 248,000 visitors in the 2024 calendar year, a 61% recovery of 2019 levels.
In 2019, China was New Zealand’s second-largest visitor market, contributing over $1.7 billion to the economy, though numbers dropped significantly during the pandemic.
More recent data shows continued growth, with 248,000 visitors in 2024 and a 97% increase in arrivals for the year ending December 2024 compared to 2023.
But as an indication of what a worst-case scenario might result from the warning, Chinese tourism to Canada experienced a drastic decline after late 2018, falling to approximately 225,100 visitors in 2023 from nearly 700,000 in 2018, a decrease of about 68%.
This drop was a direct result of China issuing a travel advisory in January 2019, calling the decline “part of the CCP’s retaliation” for the arrest of the Huawei CFO Meng Wanzhou by Canadian authorities.
The actions of the SISD once again draw attention to the advisory cited risks of “arbitrary detention”.
The actions of the SIS once again draw attention to the increasingly bold and often public stance the agency is taking against China as New Zealand foreign policy moves closer to the United States.
Ironically this comes at a time when CBS News has reported that Tulsi Gabbard, the director of national intelligence, issued a directive weeks ago to the U.S. intelligence community ordering that all information regarding the Russia-Ukraine peace negotiations not be shared with U.S.-allied intelligence partners.
The memo, dated July 20 and signed by Gabbard, directed agencies to not share information with the so-called Five Eyes, the post-World War II intelligence alliance comprising the U.S., U.K., Canada, Australia and New Zealand, multiple U.S. intelligence officials told CBS News.
But in its 2025 Security Threat Environment Report, the New Zealand Security Intelligence Service named China eight times as a threat to New Zealand security.
“There are several states undertaking foreign interference in New Zealand,” it said.
“The most active remains the People’s Republic of China (PRC), though it is not the only foreign state carrying out activity of concern.”
The NZSIS defines foreign interference as an act by a foreign state, often acting through a co-optee, which is intended to influence, disrupt, or subvert New Zealand’s national interests by deceptive, corruptive, or coercive means.
The NZSIS has also stepped up its warnings to businesspeople dealing with China.
Those who accompanied the Prime Minister on his trip in June received an extensive set of warnings directly from SIS agents about ways the Chinese might attempt to compromise them when they were in China.
For the first time, journalists on the trip were also briefed by SIS agents.
Senior Government officials in agencies which have dealings with China report an increased concern in reports they receive from the SIS.
What is different about the current situation is that it is much more out in the open than in the past.
For some time now, government agencies which have received Chinese delegations have had their premises “swept” for electronic bugs after the delegations have left.
It was the security agencies who alerted both the Labour and National leaders in 2020 about the MPs Raymond Huo and Jian Yang (This was initially mispelled as Jiang), and those alerts led to both departing Parliament.
However, the reasons for their departure were not made public by either party.
And it is understood there were serious concerns about China attempting to “bug” the new New Zealand Embassy in Beijing when it was under construction, that military personnel were sent to Beijing to complete the build.
Similarly, China refuses to start construction on its new Embassy near the Basin Reserve in Wellington because it claims a pipe running under the site could be used for espionage purposes.
But the danger in the current situation is that it is so closely linked to tourism, and Chinese tourism is of such value to New Zealand.
