In comments sent to AFP, a spokesperson for Beijing's embassy in New Zealand said the comments by Australia and New Zealand's defence and foreign ministers were "marked by bias, misinformation, and inexplicable colonial-style arrogance".

The spokesperson accused the two countries of overlooking the "root cause" of the current war in the Middle East, triggered by joint US-Israeli strikes on Iran on February 28.

And they accused New Zealand and Australia of staying silent on their "own poor records concerning human rights and ethnic minority issues".

Tuesday's joint statement, issued after meetings in Canberra, saw ministers from both countries condemn Iran's "reckless and indiscriminate attacks" on its neighbours.

It also condemned Beijing's "destabilising activities" in the disputed South China Sea as well as its treatment of minorities in Xinjiang and Tibet, and stifling of freedoms in the southern semi-autonomous city of Hong Kong.

Beijing's mission in Wellington in response accused Canberra and Wellington of "double standards".

While minorities in China enjoyed "harmony", it said, the international community was "well placed" to "form a fair judgment regarding the treatment of Indigenous peoples and ethnic minorities in those countries".