China on Friday rejected a New Zealand intelligence report that identified Beijing as the only country conducting espionage against New Zealand "at scale," calling the allegations "groundless."
"Its false allegations against China either smear normal exchanges and cooperation as so-called espionage or interference, or are entirely groundless and fabricated out of thin air. We firmly oppose this and will never accept it," the Chinese Embassy in New Zealand said in a statement posted on US social media platform Facebook.
An embassy spokesperson highlighted improvements in bilateral relations in recent years, pointing to increased trade and growing numbers of Chinese tourists and students visiting New Zealand, and said the report's release "at this particular juncture is no coincidence."
"It forms part of a new wave of attacks, slander and vilification against China orchestrated by certain international forces, and may well itself be a product of foreign interference," the spokesperson said.
The New Zealand Security Intelligence Service (NZSIS) report said the country's public and private sectors were being targeted by foreign states and their proxies seeking access to critical assets, including intellectual property, innovative technology and other non-public information.
"There are several states that conduct espionage against New Zealand, but the People's Republic of China (PRC) is the only country we have detected doing it at scale," the report said.
It also alleged that Chinese intelligence officers had targeted current and former New Zealand government officials with access to classified or sensitive information.
Responding to the allegations, the Chinese Embassy spokesperson accused "certain forces, both within and outside New Zealand," of spreading "disinformation" to create tensions between the two countries, undermine public trust and damage bilateral relations.
"Manufacturing distractions in foreign relations will not solve New Zealand's own problems -- it will only prove counterproductive," the spokesperson said, urging "these forces" not to "quench their thirst with poison, and not to lift a rock only to drop it on their own feet."
The spokesperson expressed hope that Wellington would "work in the same direction as China, rather than the opposite."
"Should it fail to do so, the responsibility for any consequences that may arise will not rest with the Chinese side," the spokesperson added.
