China's spy agency accuses New Zealand of 'harassment, intimidation' of Chinese citizens

China's top counter-espionage agency has accused New Zealand of "harassment and intimidation" in its investigations of Chinese nationals after Wellington released an annual security threat report that labelled China as a "complex intelligence concern".

The Ministry of State Security (MSS) condemned New Zealand for what it said were unfounded claims of a "Chinese intelligence threat", adding that such actions harmed bilateral relations. The MSS said the allegations reflected New Zealand's "ideological bias" and "cold war mentality", which undermined cooperation between the two countries.

"The harassment and intimidation faced by Chinese citizens in New Zealand is deeply malicious and unacceptable," the MSS said on its WeChat account on Thursday.

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The criticism followed a formal diplomatic complaint from Beijing to the New Zealand Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade earlier this month.

In a statement on September 19, the Chinese embassy said that it received reports of Chinese nationals being "harassed" and "intimidated" by security officials in New Zealand after the New Zealand Security Intelligence Service (NZSIS) released an annual threat report on September 4 that branded China as a "complex intelligence concern", highlighting the threats of "foreign interference".

The report said China manipulated viewpoints within New Zealand's Chinese communities through deceptive front organisations and promoted narratives through a Chinese-language news outlet believed to operate under Beijing's influence.

The Chinese embassy in New Zealand called the claims "baseless", insisting that China consistently avoided interfering in the internal affairs of other countries and that relations between the two countries had prospered due to strong economic ties - marked by recent trips to New Zealand by Foreign Minister Wang Yi and Premier Li Qiang.

The embassy said the NZSIS report "unfairly disparages" the Chinese community and students, "aiming to provoke conflicts, create panic and sow division".

On Thursday, the MSS dismissed the report as part of a broader pattern of rumours being spread about China. The ministry countered that New Zealand - a member of the Five Eyes alliance - was spying and stealing intelligence.

New Zealand had promoted false narratives about "Chinese cyberattacks" while cooperating with the Five Eyes, "the largest intelligence organisation in the world", the MSS said in its post, citing leaked documents by Edward Snowden revealing New Zealand's collaboration with the US National Security Agency to hack a data link between the Chinese consulate and its passport office in Auckland.

The MSS urged New Zealand to follow ethical standards instead of "straying down the wrong path", and to create a fair environment for Chinese nationals.

"Whether driven by delusion, ulterior motives, or incited by external forces, creating contradictions and divergences between China and New Zealand and promoting the agendas of others will not resolve any of one's own issues. Instead, it will harm one's own interests and bilateral relations," the MSS said.

Historically, New Zealand has maintained an accommodating stance toward China, its biggest trading partner.

However, since the conservative coalition government of Prime Minister Christopher Luxon took office late last year, New Zealand has tilted to strengthening ties with US-led allies over concerns about China's growing influence in the Pacific.

Wellington is considering joining Pillar 2 of the Aukus three-way security pact of Australia, the United States and the UK, and creating a new partnership with Nato.

New Zealand's warnings were part of a broader trend reflecting concerns about China's "assertive" actions, the MSS said in its post on Thursday.

In March, New Zealand accused a Chinese state-sponsored group of orchestrating a 2021 cyberattack that compromised sensitive government systems. China rejected the allegation, saying the critics were proxies for Washington.

In its first security report last year, New Zealand highlighted foreign interference threats from countries including China, Iran and Russia.

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