[Epoch Times November 06, 2021](Epoch Times reporter Chen Ting comprehensive report) New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said that he welcomes greater US participation in the Indo-Pacific region.
According to Reuters, Ardern will host an online summit of Asia-Pacific leaders including the United States, China and Japan next week to discuss how the region can recover from the COVID-19 epidemic and the corresponding economic crisis.
Ardern said in an interview that the United States can play an “incredibly important role” in strategic defense, economic and trade relations in the Indo-Pacific region.
She told NBC’s “Meet the Press” program: “We welcome this kind of physical presence as part of important talks in our region.”
“And recently we have seen a deeper involvement of the United States.” She said.
Ardern reiterated that her government’s position is that although New Zealand has important trade relations with China, it will still raise issues that require attention, including human rights, labor rights, and environmental issues.
“It is very important for us that no matter what these trade relations are, we can continue to do this and do it,” she added.
In the past, the Ardern government was accused of ignoring the CCP’s questioned human rights record, leading some analysts to call New Zealand a “weak link” in the Five Eyes alliance.
Earlier this year, Ardern stated that the human rights differences between New Zealand and China (the Chinese Communist Party) are “increasingly difficult to reconcile”, and her government will continue to point out Beijing’s areas of concern.
Editor in charge: Ye Ziwei#
.