New Zealand’s foreign minister to visit counterpart in China

By NICK PERRY
Associated Press

WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) — New Zealand’s Foreign Minister will visit her counterpart in Beijing this week in the first such trip in four years. But the visit comes at an awkward time. Chinese President Xi Jinping is visiting Moscow this week, giving a diplomatic boost to Russian President Vladimir Putin after the International Criminal Court announced it wants to put him on trial for alleged war crimes. New Zealand Prime Minister Chris Hipkins said New Zealand is emphatically opposed to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine but it was nevertheless time to reestablish in-person ties with China.