China bans four New Zealand MPs over Taiwan visit

In a first, China has banned four New Zealand Members of Parliament for a year over their visit to Taiwan, New Zealand's foreign ministry says.

The MPs learned of the ban - which the Chinese Embassy said could be reduced or waived with an apology - when they returned from the trip in May, local media reported on Thursday.

China claims the self-governed island of Taiwan as its territory, and has tried to restrict the island's foreign engagements.

But this is the first time China has imposed travel bans on New Zealand MPs for visiting Taiwan - a move that "surprised" foreign minister Winston Peters, a ministry spokesperson said in a statement to the BBC.

"New Zealand MPs have visited Taiwan for decades and such visits are not inconsistent with New Zealand's One China policy," the spokesperson said.

The visit in May comprised lawmakers from the ruling coalition - Maureen Pugh, David Wilson and Laura McClure - as well as Duncan Webb from the opposition Labour Party.

McClure, from the ACT party, said the travel ban was "a type of foreign interference" and that she was "not going to apologise for visiting Taiwan", the New Zealand Herald reported.

She told Radio New Zealand that she was "quite surprised and shocked" by the ban as similar visits had happened for years previously.