The PMs recent visit to China shows that China are still attuned to using its soft power to maintain the relationship and while many pundits applauded the visit, surely our interaction with China is utterly dependent upon China gaining what it wants via soft power.

Could it not be argued that the moment China doesn’t gain what it wants via soft power it will change tactics?

Look at the recent ratcheting up of the territorial friction with the Philippines…

Duterte threatens ‘suicide mission’ if Beijing oversteps in South China Sea Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte has threatened to send his troops on a “suicide mission” if Beijing doesn’t “lay off” a Manila-occupied island in the South China Sea. Duterte’s speech at a rally in the city of Puerto Princesa in Palawan came days after the Philippine government claimed as many as 275 Chinese boats and ships had been spotted in recent months around Manila’s Thitu Island in the Spratly Island chain.

…China will continue using soft power to get what it wants, but NZ shouldn’t be surprised if China changes tactics if that soft power doesn’t get them what they want.

TDB Recommends NewzEngine.com

Becoming economically reliant on China is not a position we want to remain in, because this relationship isn’t going to get easier here…

Anne-Marie Brady case: Jacinda Ardern pushes back on Oz claim Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has pushed back on claims out of Australia that intelligence assessments pointed the finger at China’s spy agency as being behind the burglaries of Anne-Marie Brady. A year-long New Zealand police investigation into the affair, looking into three burglaries of the home and office of the University of Canterbury professor, was closed in February with the case officially described as “unresolved”. But last night Australia’s Four Corners current affairs TV show said conclusions had been reached behind closed doors in Canberra. “Government sources have confirmed to Four Corners that intelligence assessments identified China’s spy service as the prime suspect behind the intimidation of Brady,” the programme said.

…or here…