Should New Zealand be concerned by China's interest in the Pacific?

Foreign Affairs Minister Nanaia Mahuta has previously compared New Zealand and China’s relationship to the respect a taniwha would show a dragon. 

That respect has not prevented China continuing to try and firm up its presence in the Pacific – after success in signing a sweeping deal with the Solomon Islands, the rest of the region is now in their sights. 

Is this a policy failure for the New Zealand and Australian governments – or is China simply offering a deal too good to resist?  

Today, Newstalk ZB chief political reporter Jason Walls joins Damien from Washington DC to discuss what, if anything, New Zealand can do about the dragon at our doorstep.  

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Host: Damien Venuto
Producer/Editor: Paddy Fox
Executive Producer: Ethan Sills 

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