New Zealand is reliant upon China, a country that makes up about a third of its export market. So, when the country’s prime minister, Chris Hipkins, visited Beijing this week, it is hardly a surprise that he avoided saying anything to offend his hosts.

The Global Times, China’s state-run tabloid, said New Zealand’s ‘proactive’ diplomacy and actions with respect to China set ‘an example for other western countries’. In reality, that meant toeing the line on controversial issues like human rights, tensions in the South China Sea and China’s expansion into the Pacific.

Hipkins would not divulge what he discussed during his 40-minute chat with president Xi, or what was put forward by the Chinese side. But it seems safe to assume from his hesitant answers afterwards that he opted to play it safe.

At times his responses to journalists were opaque. Hipkins said that he did not raise the matter of US president Joe Biden labelling Xi a dictator, but implied the Chinese side might have done:

‘It’s a question really for them to address. I did not raise it. I’m not going to speak for – it would be undiplomatic for me to make representations on behalf of China.’

When asked whether the topic came up at all, Hipkins said, ‘I’m not going to relay any issues that China raised with me…I did not raise the matter,’ emphasising the ‘I’.

Following the meeting, Xi described New Zealand as a ‘friend and partner’. Asked whether he would characterise the relationship in the same way, Hipkins, after dissembling through a further four questions, eventually framed the relationship as an ‘international partnership’ and a ‘friendship’, but it ‘depends on the context’. He said human rights were raised, although ‘not in great depth’.

The trip is the first to China by a New Zealand prime minister since before Covid, when Jacinda Ardern travelled there briefly in 2019. Travelling with Hipkins was the biggest delegation ever for an overseas trip, including representatives from farming giant, Fonterra, Air New Zealand, Sealord, and Zespri, the world’s largest exporter of kiwifruit. But is New Zealand in danger of prioritising the concerns of big businesses like these over the voice of those allies uncomfortable with such a close relationship with China?

New Zealand is striving to maintain a balance between China and its more traditional partners. Auckland is weighing up joining the second pillar of the Aukus agreement, made up of Australia, the UK and the US. The agreement is intended to offer a deterrent to Chinese military development and potential escalation in the Pacific. New Zealand’s participation in Pillar II of the agreement would involves the sharing of advanced military technologies and strategic information. But signing up to Aukus would mean alienating China – something Hipkins seemed hesitant about doing on his trip to Beijing.

‘I myself [am] attaching great importance to our relations with New Zealand,’ Xi said after his meeting with Hipkins. ‘Our relationship has remained robust and strong. It has brought tangible benefits to people in our two countries and contributed to regional peace, stability and prosperity.’

Hipkins’ visit has cemented the relationship between China and New Zealand – but at what price?