Pakistan, July 30 -- New Zealand Foreign Minister (FM) Winston Peters has come under criticism after telling a Chinese-born opposition lawmaker to "go back to your own country" during a heated parliamentary debate, prompting a rare response from China's ambassador to New Zealand.

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The exchange took place during a discussion on New Zealand's response to the Covid-19 pandemic when Green Party MP Lawrence Xu-Nan, who was born in China's Tianjin city and raised in Auckland, asked Peters whether he had been vaccinated.

In response, Peters claimed the lawmaker had "come here five minutes ago" before telling him to "go back to your own country." He also contrasted New Zealand's democratic ...