Christopher Luxon, from New Zealand's right-of-centre National Party, is currently ahead in opinion polls against the incumbent centre-left government led by Prime Minister Chris Hipkins.
Asked if he would turn to Beijing to fund a massive road infrastructure project worth NZ$24 billion (US$14.6 billion), Luxon told public broadcaster TVNZ: "Yeah, absolutely."
"New Zealand is a country the same size as Great Britain and Japan, we have five million people in it," he said.
"A strong and resilient roading network will be absolutely critical to our future."
New Zealand's relationship with China is a hot-button issue, with traditional allies like the United States and Australia fearing Wellington is edging evermore into Beijing's political orbit.
New Zealand governments of all political stripes are careful not to criticise Beijing too forcefully on issues like human rights -- for fear of angering the country's largest trading partner.
Luxon's willingness to accept Chinese investment is likely to raise yet further concerns in Washington.
Under Beijing's Belt and Road Initiative, China has funded major infrastructure projects around the world.
But the programme has been criticised for saddling recipient nations with onerous levels of debt and being a tool for Chinese political leverage.
Recipients have often backed China's positions or remained silent about contentious issues like human rights violations or territorial claims in the South China Sea.
Asked if China would want something in return, such as being able to send its own workers to build the projects, Luxon replied: "That's not going to happen.
"That's quite a xenophobic response and a pretty simplistic response."
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