Chris Hipkins' refusal to follow the lead of the US and characterise Xi as a ‘dictator' has certainly been noticed in Beijing, writes political editor Jo Moir.
Analysis: Comfortable, warm, constructive and at no point adversarial is how Chris Hipkins summed up his meeting with Xi Jinping at the Great Hall of the People on Tuesday.
For a Prime Minister of five months who is a self-professed newbie to foreign policy it’s no great surprise Hipkins stuck closely to his speaking points in his opening remarks with Xi.
He kept the focus of the 40-minute discussion on the positives (the economic relationship) and referenced, but didn’t hammer home, the negatives (human rights abuses and China’s increasing assertiveness in the Pacific).
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Walking into someone else’s house and picking a fight with them isn’t exactly how diplomacy is done, especially when there’s no established relationship between the pair, is how it was articulated to Newsroom.
“It was a relatively free-flowing dialogue on a range of issues where New Zealand and China have mutual interests,” Hipkins told media.
On stickier topics he said New Zealand’s position was “referenced rather than gone into detail” but added his Foreign Minister Nanaia Mahuta had visited her counterpart in Beijing earlier in the year and gone into more depth on some of those matters.
"One or two words are never going to describe a relationship." – Chris Hipkins, Prime Minister
Hipkins was careful in the press conference with New Zealand media at the Beijing embassy immediately after the bilateral not to speak on Xi’s behalf or give away any issues raised on his part.
Newsroom understands Xi made a point of emphasising China’s position that domestic matters are for individual countries and not for other nations to comment publicly on - a deliberate nod to Hipkins for steering clear of characterising Xi as a dictator.
Ahead of his trip to China this week Hipkins was asked whether he agreed with the US President Joe Biden, who had called Xi a dictator just days after his Secretary of State Anthony Blinken travelled to Beijing to meet with Xi.
Hipkins wasn’t pre-warned Biden had made the comment, so was forced to go with his gut rather than any carefully scripted official comments when asked about it.
He disagreed with Biden and said he didn’t think those sorts of labels were helpful, for which China has given Hipkins brownie points, while simultaneously not receiving any blowback from the US.
There was speculation ahead of the meeting that Xi may raise the Government's close ties with the US and take issue with New Zealand’s increasing alliance with the West, particularly on matters within the Pacific.
It didn't come up, however, and Hipkins putting distance between New Zealand and the US shortly ahead of his trip was clearly noted, and appreciated, in Beijing.
Hipkins resembles a bilingual speaker at times when navigating the tightrope of being a naturally blunt and frank politician with the diplomacy required in foreign affairs matters.
At points during Tuesday evening’s press conference Hipkins was clearly keen to directly answer questions about what was discussed in the meeting but had to pause and translate his answer into something more nuanced and vague.
His grappling with the change in communication style meant he initially refused to reciprocate the “friend and partner” summarisation extended by Xi to New Zealand.
After a few more attempts in response to follow-up questions, Hipkins found what he was looking for, which was that “one or two words are never going to describe a relationship” but “yes, by and large” New Zealand and China are friends and partners.
The characterisation by Xi was the exact same words he used in November when former Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern had a bilateral with him on the sidelines of the APEC meeting in Thailand.
Hipkins says he found Xi easy to speak to on a personal level - an impressive feat given they were engaging from tables about six metres apart.
It was hardly a cosy setting, and he did acknowledge the building was “formidable” after initially saying the whole thing had been very comfortable.
It’s possible Hipkins will reflect on the day differently once the adrenaline has worn off. For the time being, though, he seems to have taken the experience in his stride and treated it like an outing to the Upper Hutt Cossie Club.
In November, when Ardern was asked whether her meeting with Xi had been a win, she said that wasn’t language she used and instead framed it as “progress”.
Asked the same question by Newsroom on Tuesday, Hipkins said there’s a limit to how much progress can be made in a high-level 40-minute meeting but “international relationships are always a work in progress”.
Hipkins might not be claiming any wins on the record, but it was clear as he enjoyed a barbecue and a glass of wine with the business delegation at the embassy afterwards that he was celebrating a good day at the office.
