Wellington, May 5 (TIWN) New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said on Monday that as Chinas role in the world grows, the differences between Beijing and Wellington are becoming "harder to reconcile".

In a speech at the China Business Summit in Auckland, Ardern said there are things on which China and New Zealand "do not, cannot, and will not agree", but added these differences need not define their relationship.  "It will not have escaped the attention of anyone here that as China's role in the world grows and changes, the differences between our systems – and the interests and values that shape those systems – are becoming harder to reconcile," Ardern said.