Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern shakes hands with China's President Xi Jinping in 2019. Photo: AFP / Pool
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has confirmed she will have a formal face to face meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping tomorrow evening at the APEC meeting in Bangkok.
It's her first personal meeting with him in three years and she has promised a frank discussion on contentious issues, as well as looking for common ground.
Ardern said she will be upfront and frank about their differences as well as the two countries' shared interests.
"We say nothing publicly that we don't say privately. We're very transparent, and we're very consistent."
The two leaders spoke in 2021 by telephone, when New Zealand was the chair of APEC, but last met face to face in 2019.