The designer of Fresh Zealand's modern-Day stuffiness with China, Sir John Key, says the government has to work on to reconstruct its kinship with the superpower.
Newfangled Seeland Quality Curate Chris Hipkins leaves Wellington for Beijing on Sunday after securing the diplomatical coup d'etat of an invitation from China's leading.
It's an reward Sir John received seven times as prime of life minister of religion from 2008 to 2016.
"When you go to China as a New Zealand prime minister, you always get a very, very special experience," he told AAP.
"They turn out the bells and whistles.
"It's armed forces parades, whole that ceremony, and in the size and graduated table of such a massive emerging nation."
Mr Hipkins will meet with China's President Xi Jinping on Tuesday but it is not yet clear whether he will walk away with an expanded trade deal or other agreement.
"From Chris Hipkins' level of prospect and box culvert from Freshly Zealand's steer of view, the trigger off is to a lesser extent or so getting encourage concessions when it comes to the trade in consider and Thomas More roughly equitable nerve-wracking to fast up the relationship," Sir John said.
"The human relationship is non closely as house ground as it was under my politics."
NZ is often viewed as one of the most pro-China countries among Western nations and Sir John as its most pro-China leader.
Wellington secured a free trade deal in the months before his National government came to power, after which its worth grew exponentially.
Sir John maintains business interests in China and will travel there another three times this year, meeting with vice president Han Zheng.
He said Beijing became distanced from many in the West during the COVID-19 pandemic and Donald Trump's presidency, which demonised China.
Mr Hipkins raised eyebrows on Friday when he disagreed with US President Joe Biden's description of China's President Xi as a dictator.
Sir John doesn't attempt an answer when asked for his assessment.
Speaking at the National conference on Saturday, Opposition Leader Chris Luxon also demurred.
"I backup the prize minister," he said.
Sir John said a level of closeness to Beijing should not mask who New Zealand's true allies were.
"That's without uncertainty our early Phoebe Eyes partners start with Australia and the Cooperative States," he said.
"That doesn't entail that we can't consume a really successful and halcyon family relationship with Nationalist China based often More on deal.
"That gives us a level of influence in a positive way in China, that those who choose to throw stones ultimately don't have."
He aforesaid NZ could disagree unwaveringly and courteously on issues such as China's discourse of Uighurs and wearing away human rights in Hong Kong.
Sir Whoremonger aforesaid Mr Hipkins would benefit from the spark off less than foursome months from the Oct 14 election.
"He's had such a terrible run domestically in the last few weeks, with three ministers having to resign on his watch," he aforementioned.
"Success is probably just being out of the country.
"He'll deficiency to seed off with a story that says he's naturalized his ain human relationship with Mainland China just he hasn't traded aside whatsoever of the values and principles that he thinks his Western allies would desire him to transmit."