New Zealand delegation in Beijing, Shanghai and Tokyo talks

A delegation of New Zealand academics and former diplomats travelled to meetings in mid-September 2009 with counterpart ‘think tank’ organisations in China and Japan. Members of the delegation reported back to Asia:NZ Online on their impressions of the discussions, which took place in Beijing, Shanghai and Tokyo. The papers presented by the delegation can be viewed at the bottom of the page.

Beijing

Dr Beth Greener of Massey University discussed the visit to the prestigious Chinese People's Institute of Foreign Affairs in Beijing. She mentioned that among the issues raised were current tensions in the Sino-Australian relationship, East Asian regional architecture as well as the impacts of the financial crisis.

Dr Greener said that the delegation “discussed ways of increasing cooperation and levels of understanding between China and New Zealand, focusing in particular on the importance of people exchanges across a wide spectrum of sectors, as well as more specific initiatives such as improving small and medium business cooperation.”

The role of the United States in the region also loomed large in the discussions “with varying views on where the US would go now that it has signed the Treaty of Amity and Cooperation and what it would mean for ‘East Asia’ should the US join the East Asia Summit”.  Click here for Dr Greener's report.

Shanghai

Dr Jian Yang of Auckland University reported back to Asia:NZ on the Shanghai leg of the trip, hosted by the Shanghai Institutes for International Studies.  He described the conference as “a milestone” as it covered new ground in Chinese analysts’ engagement with the South Pacific.

He noted the effort made on the part of the hosts to place Chinese involvement in the South Pacific in a positive context. “The title of the conference [‘East Asia and South Pacific in regional cooperation’] is telling in this respect. There is no direct mentioning of Chinese involvement. Instead, it is implied in ‘regional cooperation’ between East Asia and the South Pacific.”

Dr Yang explained that South Pacific and New Zealand speakers were largely positive on Chinese involvement. “Different perspectives were presented on the issue of China coordinating its aid policy with other donors.”

He continued: “Most speakers from New Zealand and Australia pointed out the necessity of such effort. Those with the South Pacific background emphasised that the South Pacific countries as recipients would like to have freedom of choice and should be involved in the coordination process.” Click here for Dr Yang's report.

Tokyo

Michael Powles of the Centre for Strategic Studies, Victoria University, set the scene in the Japanese capital, where the New Zealanders were hosted by the Japan Institute of International Affairs. He detected a strong interest in the question of the outlook for China’s rise and its implications for both its relations with the United States and Japan and for the Asia Pacific region as a whole.

Mr Powles described a difference in emphasis among host attitudes to China. “In an open and frank exchange, Japanese participants were very cautious about the prospects for China’s peaceful rise and generally were less optimistic in this regard than the New Zealand participants.”

Mr Powles reported: “A concern they underlined was the strength of nationalism among younger Chinese which impeded major improvement in relations between Japan and China.” However, he went on to note that increased student exchanges between the two countries provided some cause for optimism in the longer term.

He explained that members of the Japanese delegation were positive on the question of New Zealand’s continuing engagement in wider regional institutions.  Click here for Mr Powles' report.

Delegation members

The delegation was led by Asia:NZ Executive Director Dr Richard Grant. The other members included:

  • Mr Brian Lynch, Director, New Zealand Institute of International Affairs

  • Mr Michael Powles, Senior Fellow, Centre for Strategic Studies, Victoria University and Adjunct Research Fellow, Fudan University

  • Dr Jian Yang, Senior Lecturer in Political Studies, Auckland University

  • Dr David Capie, Senior Lecturer in International Relations, Victoria University of Wellington

  • Dr Beth Greener, Lecturer in International Relations, Massey University

  • Mr Simon Gray, Asia:NZ young leader and Lecturer, University of Waikato

NEW: Read Simon Gray's impression of the dialogues in our young leaders' section

The papers presented by the delegation included:

Photos

1) The New Zealand delegation who participated at the Beijing meeting
2) Shanghai by night
3) Participants, including the New Zealand delegation, at the Shanghai Institute of International Studies Conference "East Asia and South Pacific in Regional Cooperation".
4) Tokyo at dusk

Last updated: 29 November 2010
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