EXCLUSIVE:
Diplomatic links with China appear to have plummeted to a new low as Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern is given the cold shoulder by Beijing and a major tourism promotion is postponed by the superpower.
Ardern was scheduled to visit China early this year but the invitation has been put on hold.
The 2019 China-New Zealand Year of Tourism was meant to be launched with great fanfare at Wellington's Te Papa museum next week, but that has been postponed by China.
The initiative was announced by the Key Government almost two years ago when Chinese Premier Li Keqiang was in Wellington.
Richard Davies, manager of tourism policy at the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment, said: "China has advised that this event has had to be postponed due to changes of schedule on the Chinese side."