New Zealand PM to discuss trade, tourism and security on first visit to China

"There are a whole bunch of issues and challenges in the relationship," said Jason Young, Director of the New Zealand Contemporary China Research Centre at Victoria University, while adding that both sides agree they have significant interests.

New Zealand aired concerns in February, for instance, when the Cook Islands, within its constitutional ambit, signed pacts, such as one on co-operation on the economy, infrastructure and seabed mining, with China, without consulting it first.

The presence of a Chinese People's Liberation Army Navy task force in the Tasman Sea and Chinese activity in the Pacific also pose challenges for the relationship, Young added.