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The Prime Minister has personally thanked outgoing United States President Joe Biden for his half-century of public service as he prepares to vacate the White House.
Christopher Luxon met the President at a Gala dinner at the Apec summit last night in Lima, Peru.
“It was a good chance to say: ‘Thank you, we appreciate you’,” Luxon told travelling media.
“He has a lot of time for New Zealand - he really appreciates the role New Zealand plays and he says we have really stepped up our intensity and urgency in the relationship in the region as well.”
Christopher Luxon has been in Peru for Apec 2024, joining leaders from 21 other countries at the summit in Lima. Photo / Jason Walls
Questions lingered as to how the 21-country economic agreement will be impacted by US President-elect Donald Trump who will be inaugurated in January.
But Luxon said this question was not raised with him by any world leaders - he said he met all 21 over the course of the weekend.
Closer to home, the Prime Minister was also frank about the unknowns of a Trump presidency for New Zealand: “We don’t quite know what the policies of that administration will be”.
Christopher Luxon met US President Joe Biden at a Gala dinner in Apec last night. Photo / Jason Walls
Trump has threatened to increase tariffs on imports to the US upon assuming office. Unless New Zealand can receive a carve-out, such a move would impact New Zealand’s $14 billion worth of exports a year to US.
Luxon said this is not his focus while at Apec this year.
“The reality is, it’s not up to me, in the spirit of free and fair elections, to make comment about internal American decisions the populous makes about who gets to represent them.
“In the same way I wouldn’t expect them to make comments about who gets to represent the New Zealand people as well.”
Christopher Luxon personally thanked outgoing US President Joe Biden for his half-century of public service. Photo / Jason Walls
He said that from New Zealand’s point of view: “It is what it is”.
“The American people have spoken and have made their decision. That is the leader they have selected and it’s my job to push on and make it work for New Zealand.”
Luxon has revealed that Chinese President Xi Jinping directly raised his Government’s concerns around New Zealand joining the Aukus agreement.
Aukus is a security partnership between Australia, the United Kingdom, and the United States, centred around the Pacific region. As part of that deal, Australia was provided with nuclear submarines by the US.
Christopher Luxon has now headed back to New Zealand, and will arrive in Auckland on Monday morning. Photo / Jason Walls
But New Zealand is only interested in the non-nuclear pillar II part of the pact, which would allow the Government into an intelligence-sharing agreement with the other Aukus countries.
Luxon met Xi on Saturday morning, where the PM said he raised New Zealand’s involvement as an issue.
“China has concerns around what they see as tension in the region that’s also coming from the US, or what’s coming through Aukus,” Luxon said.
“They don’t particularly see that as a positive from their perspective in the region. We would disagree, we do think it gives regional stability and security.”
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon met China's President Xi Jinping at the Apec Summit in Peru yesterday. Photo / Pool
Asked if he was worried if there would be any repercussions from China if New Zealand joined Aukus, Luxon said that “is not a consideration for us”.
“We’re going to do this objectively, very dispassionately.”
But Luxon noted that New Zealand is still in the exploratory phase of joining the military pact - saying it’s still “some time away” figuring out what New Zealand gets out of the agreement, is a “slow burn”.
Luxon’s now headed back to New Zealand, and will arrive in Auckland on Monday morning.
