The prime minister and National Party leader used the occasion to urge voters to support the National Party and said he backs Chinese New Zealanders. In response, Peters told Xu-Nan to “go back to where you’ve come from, you loudmouth”. Former prime minister Helen Clark also weighed in on X late Wednesday, describing Peters’ comments as a “dangerous way” to refer to New Zealand’s largest trade partner. Speaking on TVNZ’s Breakfast on Thursday, Xu-Nan described Peters’ comments as a “desperate attempt to distract” from the coalition’s record. “What we want to see is Prime Minister Christopher Luxon actually stepping up and holding his ministers accountable for their behavioural patterns.”