passport validity

I purchased tickets from Budapest (Hungary) to Auckland (New Zealand) with transit in Shanghai. We (4 persons in total) bought the return tickets from March 3 to March 22. We checked all our destination’s requirements for passport validity and a passport valid for at least three months is needed for all our destinations (China visa free transit, New Zealand and Hungary). But the passport of one of my friends (who also bought a ticket) expires on August 25, 2024. We have the return flight on March 22, 2024 so his passport is valid more than 3 months beyond our intended departure date (which is in line with the requirements of all out destinations), but less than 6 months. In that case will my friend be allowed to get a china visa free transit and to travel with a passport valid only for more than 3 months from the date of return.