He says he found the caution Foreign Affairs Minister Nanaia Mahuta made to NZ exporters about diversifying “quite reasonable”.
“What this means is that as NZ talks to its Five Eyes partners, they (NZ government) can put their hand on their heart and say ‘we did warn you’,” Mahon said.
He felt the NZ government was simply hedging itself against something that had not happened yet and was not necessarily going to, as China did not see NZ as being in lock-step with its Five Eyes partners.
“You cannot shape the language to please everyone. I think the Government has got it right and is trying to get a balance,” he said.
But while the Government was prompting exporters to look further afield, Mahon maintains it is also in a position to lead on this call.
“If the Government is concerned about diversity, they could lead with the significant infrastructure they already have in place around the globe through MFAT and NZTE,” he said.
Regardless of our relationship with China, Mahon says Mahuta’s call for diversification made sense for a small trading country.
“It is always good for any economy to look at growth opportunities. This is not about stopping selling to China; a lot of things can go wrong in global trade, not just politics and diversification does not mean we replace China,” he said.
“The reason we are not in other large markets as much, like Indonesia, is because they are harder – the Government as custodian of this infrastructure does have the means to assist.”
Putting the China-NZ relationship into an international context, Mahon says NZ is being asked to be a party to the United States’ efforts to reinstate and maintain its global power status.
“It is about that, it is not about trade, Hong Kong or human rights, they are all worthy issues, but they are not the key to this,” he said.
“The only thing we (NZ) can rely on with any country is that we act according to our own principles on things that really affect us, and not take a position to pine on publicly about other countries’ issues.”
He maintains that when it comes to sensitive issues like human rights there are channels and dialogue for dealing with that behind the scenes.
“We cannot join a Western coalition against anyone unless we know the outcome is for the common good of the people suffering,” he said.
“What if we said to Australia ‘we will not trade unless we can audit your detainee camps’? Every country has struggled with human rights disparities, we even have our own.
“Once you start down the road of damning others, you go down into dangerous territory. What is the point in saying it – is it because we will change anything, or is it just for those countries wanting to put pressure on China for their own gains?”
As Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison departs NZ after a fleeting visit, Mahon says it could be useful for our PM to consider a visit to China.
“To make only one trip to our major trading partner in five years, there is an obligation pending there,” he said.
In the absence of NZ First as a coalition partner, Mahon maintains Labour is managing more sensitive, nuanced and considered messaging about our China relationship.
“Nanaia is trying to get it right, in her own wording,” he said.
This came after some inflammatory statements made by previous foreign minister Winston Peters about China’s role in the Pacific that drew Chinese ire.
