Prior to 1949, the Qing Dynasty had established a consulate in Wellington to deal with trade, immigration, and the welfare of the local Chinese community.

[1] In 1960, Prime Minister Keith Holyoake undertook a state visit to Taiwan in 1960 and was hosted by ROC President Chiang Kai-shek.

[3] Despite interest from the New Zealand Labour Party, foreign affairs officials, and some private sector traders, the New Zealand Government declined to establish diplomatic relations or informal relations with the People's Republic of China (PRC) until 1972 due to concern it would encourage the spread of Communism in Southeast Asia and its adherence to the American policy of not recognising the PRC.

In late January 1973, the ROC's last ambassador Konsin Shah and his staff left New Zealand, ending formal diplomatic relations between the two governments.

In 1975, the Chinese Embassy objected to five visits by Taiwanese swimming, tennis, football, badminton and softball teams to attend sporting events in New Zealand.

[13] In November 2022, New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern raised the issue of China's threats to Taiwan in a conversation with Chinese leader Xi Jinping.

[14] China responded publicly to the concerns raised by New Zealand and other nations saying that their relations with Taiwan were an internal matter and they would not accept any foreign interference.

[18] In early September 2024, China's Ambassador to the Pacific Qian Bo successfully pressured the Forum to remove references to Taiwan in the final communique of the 2024 leaders' summit in Tonga that week.