China Calls New Zealand's Spy Report Claims "Entirely Baseless"

Beijing was accused of infiltrating local groups, replacing authentic community views with those approved by the ruling party.

China insisted Thursday it did not pose a threat to New Zealand's national security after the country's spy service singled out Beijing-backed groups as a "complex intelligence concern".

New Zealand's Security Intelligence Service levelled unusually candid criticisms at China in its annual threat report, released this week, saying ongoing foreign interference efforts were "complex and deceptive".

China's embassy in New Zealand hit back on Thursday, branding such claims "entirely baseless" and "a figment of imagination or sheer fabrication".