Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern will meet Chinese President Xi Jinping​ on the sidelines of an Apec leaders summit in Bangkok, Thailand.

A face-to-face meeting with Xi has been confirmed among the bilateral meetings Ardern has lined up, it is understood, as world leaders assemble in Bangkok for an Asia-Pacific Economic Co-operation (Apec) forum in the coming days.

A bilateral meeting with the authoritarian ruler of New Zealand’s largest trading partner is a rare event: Ardern last spoke directly to Xi a year ago, and the pair last met in-person when she visited Beijing in 2019.

Ardern, currently on a trade mission in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, has not confirmed she will meet Xi. In the early hours of Thursday morning (NZ time), she said if a meeting were to occur it would cover issues including economic trade, climate change, and “areas where we continue to have difference”.

"We say nothing publicly that we don't say privately. We're very transparent, and we're very consistent.”

Ardern’s Government has in recent years been at pains to maintain an increasingly difficult balance in New Zealand’s relationship with China.

The Government has faced increasing pressure to more stridently join allies on responding to China’s expansionist activity and brutal repression of its perceived enemies, including the Uyghur Muslim minority in Xinjiang and a democratic movement in Hong Kong, while maintaining a trading relationship New Zealand depends on.

New Zealand has this year raised issue with China's efforts to build influence in the Pacific.

Ardern in March called a security pact signed between Beijing and Solomon Islands “gravely concerning”, warning of potential “militarisation" of the Pacific.

She said issues New Zealand had "raised consistently” would be discussed if a meeting were to take place.

“We're opposed to the militarisation of our region ... China has had a relationship in the Pacific that goes back many, many years. Our concern is the nature of some of that engagement.”

Russia’s war in Ukraine might also be raised.

China appeared supportive of Russia’s justification of invading Ukraine, a clear breach of territorial sovereignty and international law, though in recent months it has called for de-escalation of the conflict.

Ardern said world leaders had been discussing with China its view on the Russian invasion.

"New Zealand as well is seeking every opportunity ... to seek a change in position by Russia, and that includes talking to those who may have closer relationships.”

Ardern confirmed she would have a bilateral meeting with Thailand's prime minister, Prayut Chan-o-cha, and an informal “pull aside" with Canada's Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.

Aside from China, it's understood a list of confirmed bilateral meetings also includes Philippines President Ferdinand Marcos Jr​, South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol​, and Indonesian President Joko Widodo.

Ardern would also have a pull-aside with US Vice President Kamala Harris, who is representing the US at the Apec forum.

Xi has in recent days held face-to-face meetings with Trudeau, US President Joe Biden, and Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, on the sidelines of a G20 summit in Bali.