Trade Minister Damien O’Connor’s diplomatic flub has been criticised as “dumb diplomacy” that plays into China’s desire to weaken alliances between New Zealand’s allies.

O’Connor on Tuesday sparked trans-Tasman tensions after saying Australia "should follow us and show respect" to China in a broadcast interview, weighing into a worsening rift between the two countries.

Strategic studies professor Robert Ayson​, of Victoria University, said while there would be ministers and officials who think Australia has been a bit hard on China, “that doesn't mean you say it”.

"You don't take the opportunity to imply that Australia should follow our example, it's just dumb diplomacy.”

Ayson said China would be “comfortable” with its relationship with New Zealand, whereas it would want a weakened alliance between Australia and the US, which has similarly confronted China’s rising influence.

“So it's not a great look for New Zealand to be giving the impression that we're helping China out here, with that ambition – even though that's not clearly Mr O'Connor's intentions here".

In the interview, O’Connor appeared to confirm that New Zealand would attempt to mediate a resolution between Australia and China, a possibility which made headlines after Foreign Minister Nanaia Mahuta told Reuters that APEC may be an opportunity to “have a conversation”.

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The Government has since disputed the interpretation of Mahuta’s comments. Ayson said Mahuta had “implicitly encouraged” the suggestion New Zealand might broker a truce, though she had “words put in her mouth”.

"That Mr O'Connor would walk into that situation, again, is not a great moment for New Zealand diplomacy,” Ayson said.

National Party foreign affairs spokesman Gerry Brownlee said any effort to broker between the countries was a “silly suggestion".

“It implies that our view is that there is a conflict between Australia and China that needs to be sorted out. It's not our place to determine that.”

He said O’Connor was completely out of order to tell Australia how to handle its relationship with China.

"There has not been a time when New Zealand has not raised an issue of difference with China. O'Connor is right that we do that respectfully, but we don't need to tell other people how to do it.

"He should take his own advice and stick to his knitting.

"Other countries will see us being a little bit, sort of, high and mighty, a little bit smug, and in the case of Australia, they'll see us as being somewhat pretentious.

"China, I think, would find it just amusing.”

National MP Simon O’Connor, who has been critical of the Chinese Community Party (CCP) as a member of the Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China, said renewing the trade agreement with China was positive, but O’Connor had shown a “blindness”.

"It suits the CCP to have a trade deal with New Zealand right now in order to increase pressure on Australia.

"For Damien to so loudly trumpet in the Australian's faces suits the political end of the CCP.”

He said his Australian counterparts considered the minister was blatantly "running CCP lines".

"Some of it I won't be able to repeat. They are very upset, they see it as a real slap in the face, poor timing, poor judgement."

O’Connor’s advice to Australia

Speaking to CNBC’s Squawk Box Asia TV programme after the signing of the New Zealand-China free trade agreement upgrade on Tuesday, O’Connor was asked how New Zealand could mediate between Australia and China.

“We have free and frank discussions with them, and I guess that honesty and frankness is something that China appreciates, we certainly do from our side,” he said.

“I can’t speak for Australia and the way it runs its diplomatic relationships, but clearly if they were to follow us and show respect, I guess a little more diplomacy from time to time and be cautious with wording, then they too, hopefully, could be in a similar situation.

“We have the benefit of being a small country, we’ve always maintained our independence ... and I guess over time hopefully that’s given us the opportunity to be a good mediator, facilitator, and our chair of APEC this year does provide an opportunity for us to do whatever we can to build relationships.”