Claims of infiltration by China ‘overblown’

Claims New Zealand has become the ‘‘soft underbelly’’ for China’s efforts to infiltrate the Five Eyes international security and intelligence network are ‘‘sensationalist’’, says the new director of the New Zealand Contemporary China Research Centre.

Centre director Jason Young said recent claims about the extent of Chinese influence and, in some cases perceived interference, were ‘‘overblown and do a disservice to the much more complex reality of the New Zealand-China relationship’’.

Last month, the Canadian SIS published a report with academic research relating to China’s ‘‘soft power’’ and growing global influence. The report, which was not a representation of the views of the CSIS, said ‘‘New Zealand provides a vivid case study of China’s willingness to use economic ties to interfere with the political life of a partner country’’.

This report was the latest in a string of media reports and academic research questioning the level of China’s influence in New Zealand.

But Young said the debate around the role China played in New Zealand, and the wider region, was more complex than had been discussed in the recent media reports and academic articles in New Zealand.

‘‘Sensationalist claims about extensive Chinese influence in New Zealand highlight the importance of the knowledge and understanding the Victoria University of Wellington-led New Zealand Contemporary China Research Centre brings to public debate,’’ he said. ‘‘It is crucially important we have a New Zealand institute that can think about New Zealand interests and New Zealand needs.’’

The centre is based at Victoria University of Wellington and is funded by the university.

It shares a location, chairman, and administrator with the Confucius Institute, which is funded by the Chinese Government. Chair Tony Browne told

the institutes operated independently.