China's embassy in New Zealand has lodged formal diplomatic concerns with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade over Winston Peters' "go back to your own country" remark to Green MP Lawrence Xu-Nan in Parliament this week.
The representation to the ministry marks an escalation from what the Chinese ambassador to New Zealand had earlier described as "domestic politics" into an international diplomacy row with a major trading partner.
Peters, who is the Foreign Minister, made the comments as leader of New Zealand First while responding to heckling during a speech in the House on Wednesday.
"I know you just came here five minutes ago. Go back to your own country," he said.
"That's where they lie like a flatfish, but they don't lie like that here, all right? This is called democracy. This is called democracy, unlike what you're used to."
Xu-Nan was born in Tianjin, China, and has lived in New Zealand since the mid-90s.
Opposition MPs have called for him to be sacked as Foreign Minister.
In a statement, the Embassy said a senior official had lodged "solemn representations" with MFAT over "the negative China-related remarks made by a certain politician in the New Zealand Parliament", without naming Peters directly.
New Zealand First leader Winston Peters responded to heckling by saying to Lawrence Xu-Nan: "I know you just came here five minutes ago. Go back to your own country." (Parliament TV) (Source: Supplied)
The Embassy urged New Zealand to "value the equal and mutually beneficial relationship between China and New Zealand and to do more things conducive to bilateral relations rather than the other way around."
China is New Zealand's largest trading partner, with total two-way bilateral trade exceeding NZ$40 billion annually.
It said the "absolute majority" of the Chinese community in New Zealand abided by local laws, integrated into mainstream society, and had made "important contributions" to the country's economic and social development, and "therefore deserve to be recognised and respected".
It called on New Zealand to protect the "legitimate rights and interests" of the Chinese community and provide "an open, inclusive and non-discriminatory environment" for them to live, study and work.
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon, in a statement attributed as "National Party leader", earlier condemned Peter's comments, saying they were a continuation of Peters' "long track record of inappropriate attention seeking", while Xu-Nan said New Zealand First was "scapegoating" migrants.
Not backing down
Speaking ahead of Question Time this week, Peters characterised his comments as "defending New Zealand's democracy" and dismissed accusations of racism as "drivel."
"I'm defending our democracy, and I'm proud of it."
NZ First deputy leader Jones said the party would campaign on a policy that migrants should be New Zealand citizens "and be here in our country for a long time" before becoming politicians, describing himself and Peters as "historical foundation New Zealanders".
"[Xu-Nan] should know his place," Jones said.
Candidates must be New Zealand citizens to be eligible to run for political office, according to the Electoral Commission.
Speaker of the House Gerry Brownlee told Parliament that Peters' original remark was "inappropriate", although he stopped short of taking further action, noting no member had raised a point of order over the exchange at the time.
"Please do not think that means that I approve comments like this," Brownlee said.
"I'd like to have a higher quality of debate in this house, but in the end, the quality of the debate is entirely up to the members who are here."
'No interest in being dragged into domestic politics'
The refusal by Peters to back down followed a brief spat with China's ambassador to New Zealand, Wang Xiaolong, who appeared to reference Peters' original remarks in a post on X.
"We have absolutely no interest in being dragged into the domestic politics of other countries… sometimes, a statement says more about the person that makes it than anything or anybody else."
Peters hit back in a post on Facebook, saying the ambassador's comments had "proven the point I made in the House," and that New Zealanders should compare Parliament with "those communist and dictatorship countries".
He added: "If that offends the pearl clutchers and the communist shills labelling it as 'dangerous' — welcome to New Zealand."
Lawrence Xu-Nan has spoken to Breakfast after he was told by Winston Peters to "go back to your own country" in the House yesterday. (Source: Breakfast)
'Scapegoating' migrant communities – Xu-Nan
Speaking to Breakfast on Thursday morning, Xu-Nan said Peters was "scapegoating" migrant communities as a distraction from the Government's record.
"It's a little bit unbelievable to have a Minister for Foreign Affairs, I guess, scapegoating the migrant communities as a distraction to shift the blame away from all of the harm that this government is doing," he said.
"What we want to see is Prime Minister Christopher Luxon actually stepping up and holding his ministers accountable for their behavioural patterns. But so far, we have seen the Prime Minister unwilling to address some of that."
Xu-Nan said New Zealand was "in essence, a welcoming place, and people care for each other."
"I think what we have seen is a sort of imported culture wars where we are looking at exploring the differences again as a distraction, as opposed to looking at the similarities that unite us and joins us together.
"We've seen, not just the migrant communities, but all communities here in Aotearoa, New Zealand, doing it really hard these last few years."
"What is really important for I think New Zealanders to remember is the aroha that we do have for each other to address the broader issues like affordable living that we're seeing right now. And this is one of the things that the Green Party is campaigning on this year, going into the election, is what New Zealanders really want."
NZ First leader, who is also Foreign Minister, made the remark responding to heckling during a speech in the House. (Source: 1News)
Last year, Peters and his deputy Shane Jones were forced to back down after Jones yelled “send the Mexicans home” at Mexico-born Green MP Ricardo Menéndez March during a debate.
Peters had followed up that comment by telling Menéndez March and Xu-Nan to "show some gratitude" for being in New Zealand.
The remarks followed recent comments labelled "racist" and "crass" from fellow senior NZ First MP Shane Jones, and sexist comments by Napier candidate Stuart Nash, which led to him resigning.
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