The Delegation of New Zealand Ministry of Defense and the New Zealand Defense Force Visits SIIS

2026/06/11

On the afternoon of June 9, 2026, Mr. Richard Schmidt, Deputy Secretary for Defense Policy and Planning of the New Zealand Ministry of Defense, led a delegation to visit the Shanghai Institutes for International Studies. The delegation was received by SIIS President Chen Dongxiao, and the two sides engaged in in-depth exchanges on issues such as the Korean Peninsula nuclear issue, China-U.S. relations, the Taiwan issue and cross-strait relations, China’s participation in United Nations peacekeeping operations, and hotspot issues in the Middle East.

Other members of the visiting delegation also included: Rear Admiral Mathew Williams, Vice Chief of Defense Force, New Zealand Defense Force, Colonel Kate Hill, Defense Attaché to China, New Zealand Embassy in Beijing, Group Captain Robert Shearer, Director Strategic Commitments, New Zealand Defense Force, Wing Commander Trevor Hammond, Personal Staff Officer to Vice Chief of Defense Force, and Mr. Kieran Simpson, Senior Analyst, New Zealand Ministry of Defense.

On the SIIS side, Dr. Mao Ruipeng, Director of the Institute for Global Governance Studies, Dr. Zhao Long, Director of the Institute for International Strategic and Security Studies, Dr. Xue Chen, Research Fellow of the Institute for International Strategic and Security Studies, and Dr. Li Yanliang, Research Fellow of the Institute for Foreign Policy Studies participated in the discussions.