HONG KONG -- New Zealand is navigating rocky diplomatic waters as tensions flare between China, the country's biggest trade partner, and Australia, its closest ally. Leading the way will be the island nation's new top diplomat, Foreign Minister Nanaia Mahuta -- a rising political star, an indigenous Maori leader and the first woman to hold the position.
Beijing and Canberra, already locked in a trade dispute, exchanged barbs this month over a Chinese official's tweet of a falsified image, which depicted an Australian soldier holding a knife to an Afghan child's throat.