China Downplayed Nuclear-capable Missile Test: Classified NZ Govt Papers

This handout photograph taken on September 25 shows the launch of a Chinese intercontinental ballistic missile that carried a dummy warhead into the Pacific Ocean (Credit: AFP)

China tried to mislead foreign governments in 2024 by playing down the importance of a nuclear-capable missile test over the Pacific Ocean, New Zealand diplomats privately warned in documents obtained by AFP.

Beijing sent shivers through the South Pacific in September 2024, when its elite Rocket Force fired a dummy warhead into the high seas near French Polynesia.