Trade Minister Todd McClay has firmly rejected the suggestion that his upcoming trip to China will be influenced in any way by yesterday's announcement of a Chinese state-sponsored cyber-attack.

The heads of the New Zealand spy agency, the Government Communications Security Bureau (GCSB), acknowledged some data was accessed in the hack, which took place in 2021, but said it was not of a “strategic or sensitive” nature.

For security reasons, it was not explained what kind of data was accessed.

International relations expert Geoffery Miller said the response to the cyber-attack had come through a war of words - which sparked when the Chinese Embassy released a strongly worded statement calling the allegations of the cyber-attack "groundless" and "irresponsible".

However, speaking to Mike Hosking on Newstalk ZB, Miller suggested there might also be a flow-on impact on New Zealand's upcoming meeting with Chinese government officials.

"Winston Peters said last week that Todd McClay, as Trade Minister, and the Prime Minister would be visiting China soon and those visits could be mysteriously delayed, for example," Miller told Hosking.

McClay, however, has since told Newstalk ZB Plus that he still plans to leave for his trip to China as soon as scheduling allows him. ZB Plus asked him whether the cyber-attack announcement would influence his trade trip in any way.

"No, our relationship with China is broad and long-standing," said McClay.

"I was pleased to meet with China’s Commerce Minister Wang Wentao recently on the margins of WTO meetings and China’s Foreign Minster, Wang Yi here in Wellington earlier this month."

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McClay also said that New Zealand's general relationship with China should also not be influenced after yesterday's announcement, re-iterating the long-standing connection between the two nations.

"While we cooperate with China in some areas, we have been clear and consistent in publicly stating issues of concern when it's in our interest to do so," he told ZB Plus.

"China is an important market for New Zealand and will continue to be so."

New Zealand China Council executive director Alistair Crozier also spoke to Newstalk ZB this morning, explaining that New Zealand has always had its own unique approach to China. Both nations have had a complex and multi-dimensional relationship, he said, and the cyber attack was only one angle.

He also said when differences emerge, the two countries hold robust conversations.

"New Zealand has taken its own approach to its engagement with China over many years, so the threat of economic sanctions is often mentioned in New Zealand," said Crozier.

"But I think we continue to take a mature, direct approach that is based on our analysis of the issues and interest and we say to China we'll say what we want to say, we're not swayed by what others are doing."

There have been international reports of US, British and Australian officials filing charges, imposing sanctions or calling out Beijing over a sweeping cyber-espionage campaign that allegedly hit millions of people, including lawmakers, academics and journalists.

GCSB minister Judith Collins said the agency had completed a “robust technical assessment” following “malicious cyber activity” targeting New Zealand’s Parliamentary Counsel Office and the Parliamentary Service in 2021.

The assessment found that Chinese state-sponsored actors known as Advanced Persistent Threat 40 (APT 40) were responsible. They are linked to China’s Ministry of State Security, according to the GCSB.

Some data was removed from the system but, based on the GCSB analysis, the data was not of a strategic or sensitive nature.