New Zealand's top diplomat Winston Peters drew the ire of Beijing's ambassador in Wellington on Thursday after telling a lawmaker of Chinese descent to "go back to your own country".

China's ambassador has delivered a pointed response after Foreign Minister Winston Peters told a Chinese-born New Zealand MP to "go back to your own country" in Parliament.

China called on "relevant people in New Zealand" not to make China an issue for domestic political purposes, and do more things that are conducive to bilateral friendship.