The All Whites have beaten hosts China 3-0 in Chongqing to break a winless drought and notch their first clean sheet in 15 months.
Tyler Bindon, Ben Waine and Owen Parker-Price were the goal-scorers in a comprehensive New Zealand performance, as Waine backed up his strike against Palestine in last week's 2-2 draw.
The win is the All Whites' first since March, when they beat Chile 4-1 at Eden Park, while it is their first clean sheet since June last year in the 1-0 win over Ivory Coast in Canada.
Coach Darren Bazeley asked for an improvement on their performance against Palestine and he got it.
Bindon scored his fourth career All Whites goal, after being found unmarked in the box by Callum McCowatt in the fifth minute.
An end to end contest for much of the first half nearly swung the All Whites way before the interval as Logan Rogerson volleyed into the side netting, before Eli Just shook the left-hand post after a dribbling run.
Waine doubled the lead in the 29th minute, with Just involved in clever passing with McCowatt and Ben Old.
The second half was less free-flowing, with Bazeley choosing to make eight changes.
Swedish-based midfielder Parker-Price was among those introduced and he scored his maiden international goal near the end, reacting quickly to a rebound after Moses Dyer's shot was saved.
The All Whites next play Panama on Thursday in Tokyo before a second match in the Kirin Cup, against either Japan or Ecuador.
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