China slams ‘groundless’ espionage claims by New Zealand spy agency

China’s embassy in Wellington harshly rejected the claims made by New Zealand’s Security Intelligence Service (SIS) that Beijing had significantly increased its espionage activities on the country's soil. The annual report published by the SIS this week claimed that China was engaged in espionage against New Zealand "at scale". In response to these allegations, a spokesperson for Beijing’s embassy in Wellington dismissed the SIS’s accusations as part of a series of "attacks, slander and vilification" against China.

The spokesperson stated that the SIS's false allegations against China either distort normal exchanges and cooperation as "so-called espionage" or interference, or are completely baseless and fabricated. This comment reflects the reluctance of certain forces within and outside New Zealand to acknowledge the positive development of China-New Zealand relations.

This response comes a few weeks after the embassy lodged an official complaint following Foreign Minister Winston Peters’ remarks to a Chinese-born lawmaker, urging him to "go back to your own country". The embassy accused unnamed forces in New Zealand of "serving as a pawn for anti-China forces", urging these forces and individuals to refrain from spreading negativity and not to exacerbate the situation.

The SIS also warned this week about Beijing's spies attempting to recruit individuals with access to state secrets through professional networking sites. The agency reported that they had thwarted an attempt by the China-linked Purple Mountain Observatory to establish a covert Ground Based Space Infrastructure (GBSI) in New Zealand.

The local company involved was likely unaware that the equipment could be used to collect "military value" intelligence. The SIS's report emphasized that this was not the first attempt by this organization to install GBSI in New Zealand and it is unlikely to be the last.