Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern says New Zealand needs to be able to raise issues with China without “retaliatory acts”.

Ardern will meet China’s ruler Xi Jinping late Friday (NZ time) on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Co-operation (Apec) forum in Bangkok, Thailand.

After arriving in Bangkok on Thursday evening, Ardern said New Zealand’s relationship with China had “changed quite a bit” in recent years, and it was tough to remain consistent in a “changing environment”.

“But we’re going to stand strong.”

She said the face-to-face meeting would be an opportunity to talk about both New Zealand’s strong economic relationship with China, and issues on which there is disagreement.

“I will make sure that I raise both in the national interest.

"Let's not define the relationship on the parts where we part ways, but we do have to create an environment where we can raise those [concerns] because that's part of who we are. We will always raise the areas that we have concerns about.

“We need to make sure we have an environment where we can do that without us seeing retaliatory acts, because in my mind that doesn't further the relationship.”

The Government has this year taken issue with Beijing's efforts to build influence in the Pacific and called on China to take action after a United Nations investigation found it had committed possible crimes against humanity against the Uyghur Muslim minority.

But New Zealand – which depends economically on China, its largest trading partner – has not suffered the same backlash as Australia, which was targetted with wine and barley tariffs in 2020 in retaliation for calling for an investigation into the origins of Covid-19.

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Xi has held reportedly productive meetings with many Western leaders this week on the side of the G20 summit in Bali, after nearly three years away from the world stage due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

But an informal exchange with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau appeared particularly tense.

In a filmed exchange, Xi challenged Trudeau at a G20 venue after details of the pair's bilateral meeting were leaked to the Canadian press.

Ardern said it was “not unusual” for leaders to speak outside of formal bilateral meetings, but it was “less often” such exchanges were recorded.

She would not comment on whether it was wrong that details of the meeting was leaked, and said it had not changed her approach.

"I will be totally consistent ... I've said many times that what we share privately we share publicly. It's all about the consistency that New Zealand tries to have in its relationships.”

Immediately after arriving in Bangkok, Ardern attended a panel discussion about “inclusive growth” at the Apec chief executive forum.

She told the audience it was important to New Zealand to have an “open” economy “in these turbulent times”.

China’s economy remains constrained by hard-line Covid-19 restrictions.

However, Ardern said it was not her intention to raise China’s Covid-19 restrictions, despite the relevance to New Zealand and other countries’ economies.

"We know it has an economic impact. But it's certainly not for us, in my view, to give our view on what is ultimately a domestic decision by China regardless of the ramifications it has.”

Ardern also met with South Korea’s Prime Minister Han Duck-soo overnight.