New Zealand to raise concerns with China over travel ban on MPs visiting Taiwan

New Zealand today said China has banned four of its lawmakers who visited Taiwan last month, and Wellington will raise its concerns with Beijing.

"These visits are not inconsistent with New Zealand's One China policy," a spokesperson for New Zealand Foreign Minister Winston Peters said, referring to Wellington's policy since 1972 of recognising Beijing as China's sole legitimate government.

"In the context of a long history of such visits, the minister is surprised by China's decision to implement a travel ban for the first time due to a visit by New Zealand members of parliament to Taiwan."

Peters has instructed New Zealand diplomats in Beijing and Wellington to discuss the matter with Chinese authorities "to raise concerns about this departure from past practice and to seek further understanding of the situation."

New Zealand and China have maintained broadly stable relations in recent years, with China remaining New Zealand's largest trading partner even as Wellington has become more vocal about Beijing's expanding influence in the Pacific.

High-level political figures from both countries have visited each other several times in the past three years, with New Zealand Prime Minister Christopher Luxon visiting China in 2025.

The Chinese embassy in Wellington did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The New Zealand Herald newspaper reported that the Chinese embassy notified parliament that four lawmakers were banned from entering China, Hong Kong and Macau for one year.

The New Zealand Herald said the ban targeted three lawmakers from the ruling centre-right coalition - Laura McClure, David Wilson and Maureen Pugh - and opposition Labour Party lawmaker Duncan Webb.

McClure told the New Zealand Herald the travel ban was "a form of foreign interference". "I will not apologise for visiting Taiwan," she said.