Photo: RNZ / Johnny Blades
The Chinese Embassy has rejected a recent intelligence report that highlighted the Asian country as a concern.
The latest threat report from the New Zealand Security Intelligence Service (NZSIS) included China in a list of countries that engaged targeted people in New Zealand who might provide them with sensitive information.
The embassy said in a statement that the findings were unfounded, denying China was a competitor or a threat to New Zealand.
"These allegations are entirely baseless as they are nothing but a figment of imagination or sheer fabrication, and reflect ideological bias and Cold War mentality, which we firmly reject and strongly oppose," the statement said.
The intelligence service's report said China remained a complex intelligence concern in New Zealand, carrying out foreign interference activities within New Zealand's diverse Chinese communities.
"The NZSIS has seen attempts to use complex and deceptive front organisations to connect with groups in New Zealand and replace authentic and diverse community views with those approved by the PRC (People's Republic of China)," the report said.
The report said a "New Zealand-based Chinese language news outlet [was] almost certainly responsive to PRC direction and repeats approved talking points in New Zealand".
It also said the intelligence arm of the People's Republic of China is well-known for using professional social networking sites to identify unwitting candidates, including New Zealanders.
"Bogus consultancy jobs are offered or similar roles that can be co-opted for reporting privileged information," it said.
"Often this begins as an innocuous request for an article or a report on a benign topic and slowly progresses into more sensitive questions.
"By the time the unwitting candidate becomes aware that they are engaging with an illegitimate actor, they have often already shared information they otherwise would not have."
In response, the Chinese Embassy said a key part of Beijing's foreign policy was to refrain from interfering in other countries' internal affairs.
It also highlighted the diplomatic relations and bilateral ties that have been developed between the two countries over the past 50 years, noting that China had long viewed New Zealand as a partner for mutually beneficial cooperation.
"Despite differences in history, culture and social system, as well as divergent views on certain issues, China and New Zealand have mostly managed successfully their differences by adhering to the principles of mutual respect and seeking common ground while reserving differences," the statement from the embassy said.
The embassy said it was regrettable that "certain forces remain unwilling to see the healthy and stable development of China-New Zealand relations".
The findings of the report were unfair to Chinese residents, including students, who made up an important part of New Zealand's diverse community, it said.
"This is highly irresponsible, reckless and deeply unfair to the Chinese community," the statement said. "We believe that fair-minded people in New Zealand will not endorse such views, and those who seek to create panic and division will not succeed."