John Howard tells NZ to accept Chinese investment

Former Australian Prime Minister John Howard has said New Zealand should not be hypocritical when it comes to foreign investment from China.

Howard was the keynote speaker at the New Zealand Property Council annual conference in New Zealand South Island resort of Queenstown on Thursday, where he told delegates that Australia and New Zealand must expect foreign investment from China.

He said that the two countries can't expect to sell resources to China and then turn their backs on the Chinese when their businesses want to invest.

"We benefit greatly from foreign investment. We can't expect countries to buy our resources and turn around and say, 'Well, you can buy our resources, but we're going to discriminate against you when it comes to foreign investment' - that's just not on, " Radio New Zealand quoted him as saying.

Howard said investment - not just from China, but anywhere - makes economic sense and must be encouraged.

He warned New Zealand and Australia should be careful they are not putting their economic eggs all in one basket by relying only on agriculture or mineral resources.

Foreign investment encourages diversification and that is where the future of Australia and New Zealand should be heading, he said.

Opposition parties in New Zealand have criticized Chinese investment, particularly the government's decision to allow the 16 Crafar farms to be sold to Shanghai Pengxin Group.