New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has voiced her objection to the Chinese government's treatment of the Uyghur Muslim minorities in Xinjiang, China.

New Zealand & China don't see "eye-to-eye" on Xinjiang

Ardern was responding to a reader's question in an interview with The Guardian, which questioned Wellington's friendly relations with Beijing despite the latter's poor human rights record.

She said New Zealand might have "a solid and growing relationship" with China, but both countries are "very different" in terms of "political systems and values".

This is why there are areas where they "do not see eye-to-eye", Ardern said, adding that New Zealand shares "international concerns" regarding China's treatment of the Uyghur population.

"New Zealand regularly discusses human right issues with China, including the situation in Xinjiang," she said.

In fact, she said she raised New Zealand's concerns with Chinese President Xi Jinping and Premier Li Keqiang during her visit to China in April.

However, she did not give further details on how the conversation went.

Ardern has also hit back at criticisms that China has too much influence in New Zealand's politics, saying she takes any allegations of foreign interference in the country "seriously".

New Zealand was among 22 countries that launched an unprecedented joint call for China to end the human rights abuses in Xinjiang.

Ardern's comments come as there are growing criticisms from experts on Beijing's meddling in Australian politics.

China's interment camps

China has been criticised for its massive internment camps for its Muslim minority population that they call "re-education" or "vocational training" centres.

As many as a million Uyghurs have been rounded up and kept at these facilities, the United Nations claimed in August last year, citing "credible reports".

According to The Washington Post, corroborated testimonies from former detainees and people familiar with the situation revealed that detained Muslim minorities were forced to study party propaganda and sing patriotic songs, such as “Without the Communist Party, there is no New China”.

They were even subjected to torture such as waterboarding.

Detainees also had to denounce their Muslim faith, and were forced to eat pork and drink alcohol, according to another report by The Washington Post.

Leaked internal documents recently have revealed how China runs the camps, with Xi calling for a "struggle against terrorism, infiltration and separatism" using the "organs of dictatorship", and showing "absolutely no mercy".

Top image adapted via Global Panorama/flickr & Jacinda Ardern's Facebook