Summarised by Centrist
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon thanked outgoing US President Joe Biden for his “half-century of public service” at APEC 2024 in Lima, Peru. Luxon acknowledged Biden’s support for New Zealand and sidestepped concerns about President-elect Donald Trump’s potential trade policies, including tariffs on $14b worth of New Zealand exports. However, he noted that was not his focus at the summit.
“The reality is, it’s not up to me, in the spirit of free and fair elections, to make comment about internal American decisions the populous makes about who gets to represent them. In the same way I wouldn’t expect them to make comments about who gets to represent the New Zealand people as well,” he said.
Luxon also discussed AUKUS with China’s Xi Jinping, noting New Zealand’s focus on non-nuclear regional stability.
