The RCEP Has Injected New Impetus into the Trade Between China and New Zealand

By Guo Yan

The year 2022 marks the 50th anni- versary of the establishment of diplomatic ties between China and New Zealand. Over the past half century， China-New Zealand relations have achieved many firsts and historic accomplishments. Among them， economic and trade cooperation has been the stabilizer of bilateral relations. With highly complementary economies， bilateral trade has increased from NZD 7 million to NZD 37.7 billion over the past 50 years. China has been New Zealands largest export market and source of imports for many consecutive years.

Not long ago， New Zealand Prime Minister John Hipkins said at a press conference after his first meeting with Australian Prime Minister Albanese that China is a very important partner of New Zealand， not only an important trading partner， but also a partner in other areas. Although differences may arise， the two countries will maintain communication.

A more open Chinese market offers development opportunities to all countries

Since the signing of the China-New Zealand Free Trade Agreement in 2008， trade in goods， services and investment between the two countries has been promoted rapidly. The total volume of bilateral imports and exports has increased from USD 4.4 billion in 2008 to USD 24.72 billion in 2021， about 5.6 times that of bilateral trade at the beginning of the signing of the FTA in 2008， with an average annual growth rate of 15%. China has become New Zealands largest trading partner and importer. Increased trade has promoted sustained development and the stability of bilateral relations.

Wang Junchao， Chinese Deputy Consulgeneral in Auckland， said that the establishing of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership （RCEP） and the Protocol on upgrading the China-Singapore Free Trade Area in 2022 has breathed fresh air into bilateral cooperation. China is actively pushing to join the CPTPP and DEPA agreements， and a more open Chinese market will provide greater development opportunities for countries around the world， including New Zealand.

According to statistics from the China Economic Research Institute， in 2022 the import and export volume of bilateral goods between China and New Zealand amounted to USD 25.1 trillion， an increase of USD 43.7 million compared to the same period in 2021， with year-on-year growth of 1.8%. The total value of Chinas exports to New Zealand in 2022 was USD 9.1 trillion， an increase of USD 613.6 million over the same period in 2021， up 7.4% year-on-year.

Todd McRae， trade and exports spokesman of the National Partys Shadow Cabinet and former minister for Trade Development， said： “With the advent of the post-COVID-19 era， the development of relations between the two countries is not only limited to the exchange and sale of goods， but also reflected in the fact that people can work more closely together to develop the economy. Through continuous improvement， there is still a lot of room for cooperation in the service sector.”He believes that the continuous development and improvement of China-New Zealand relations will benefit the people of the two nations， through consolidated achievements which will lead to a better future for both countries through mutually beneficial trade.

Recently， at the China （Guangxi）-New Zealand Trade and Investment Cooperation Negotiation and Promotion Meeting， Wei Ran， Party Secretary and President of the Guangxi Council for the Promotion of International Trade， said that since the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and New Zealand， economic and trade relations between the two countries have witnessed strong development， with bilateral trade volume increasing from NZD 7 million at the beginning of the establishment of diplomatic ties to NZD 37.7 billion in 2021. Cooperation has expanded from trade in goods to trade in services， industrial investment and scientific and technological cooperation. Trade and economic cooperation have brought high-quality products and services to our two peoples， created a large number of job opportunities and brought huge benefits to our two people.

Wang Junchao， Deputy Consul-general of the Chinese Consulate General in Auckland， said in his speech that Guangxi has beautiful mountains and clear waters， rich natural resources and unique advantages in agricultural machinery， forest processing and other fields， promising broad prospects for cooperation with New Zealand. New Zealand leads the world in such fields like scientific and technological innovation， green energy and ecological agriculture. I hope that enterprises from Guangxi will make full use of this opportunity to communicate with the New Zealand business community and promote the introduction of competitive products and featured industries from Guangxi to New Zealand.

Exports of New Zealand products to China continue to rise

China remained New Zealands largest goods export market in the first quarter of 2022， at around NZD 4.8 billion， up 5% year on year. China remains the largest market for New Zealands meat exports， now accounting for nearly 40% of New Zealands total exports.

He Zhiyun， President of the New Zealand China Council for the Promotion of International Trade， said that the reopening of the hotel， restaurant and institutional （HRI） sector has supported the recent increase in beef imports from New Zealand. Imported beef， normally higher-quality beef with standardized muscle cuts， remains popular at high-end restaurants， driving demand for beef imports. In addition， China has been increasing beef imports to reduce the rising prices of domestic beef.

According to the 2022-2026 New Zealand Dairy Market In-depth Research and Analysis Report released by Newsijie Industry Research Center， New Zealand has become one of the worlds most important dairy exporters. According to data released by New Zealand Customs， the export destinations of New Zealand dairy products are mainly concentrated in such places as China， Australia and Indonesia， accounting for about 42%， 4.2% and 3.7% respectively of the domestic dairy exports in 2021.

Amy Cai， Marketing Manager of Theland Dairy， said Theland is very popular in the Chinese market. Theland Dairy has also participated in the China International Import Expo for five consecutive years， and which has been great publicity. Many Chinese consumers like to shop online， and in the live stream， Chinese consumers can see the cows up to date situation through the 24-hour monitoring system set up in the farm.

New Zealand is Chinas sixth-largest source of forest products， according to official Chinese trade data. Huang Wei， Deputy General Manager of Guangxi Forestry Group Co.， Ltd.， said that China and New Zealand have a long history of cooperation in the field of forestry， dating back to the 1990s. The two sides have exchanged similar forestry production technology and management experience. With the continuous development of the domestic economy and the improvement of peoples living standards， Chinas demand for wood is increasing， while New Zealand has rich wood resources and mature wood processing technology， and China-New Zealand forestry cooperation has huge potential.

New Zealand is the worlds largest log exporter， with 1.7 million hectares of economic forest planted， according to Brynton Fisfull， president of Silver Fern International Ltd. China is New Zealands largest timber export market. Fisfull said that New Zealands forest industry is the only industry that allows foreign investment. He welcomes Chinese enterprises to invest in New Zealands forest wood and leaves and looks forward to future cooperation in this field.

Wei Yinqiu， Senior Manager of Oceania countries at Liugong Machinery Co.， Ltd.， said that the New Zealand government has high requirements for environmental protection and has set a plan to cut emissions from the 2019 baseline of 780，000 tons to 610，000 tons in 2030. Liugong has always attached importance to sustainable development. So far， it has established open cooperation in New Zealand to refine production to reduce operating costs. In the post-market， remanufacturing and recycling of products are emphasized to extend the life cycle of products and reduce the waste of materials. She hoped to take this opportunity to contribute Liugong wisdom to New Zealands energy conservation and emission reduction plan.

Tourism cooperation between China and New Zealand will be reactivated

At a symposium jointly hosted by the Chinese Embassy in New Zealand and the Consulates General in Auckland and Christchurch， Ye Su， Chief Counselor of the Chinese Embassy in New Zealand， said that not long ago China listed New Zealand as one of the first batch of destinations for Chinese tourist groups after the pandemic， which fully demonstrates the importance China attaches to bilateral relations. The first Chinese tourist group is expected to arrive in Auckland on March 3. Tourism cooperation between China and New Zealand will soon be reactivated， which will provide new opportunities for the two sides to deepen tourism cooperation and strengthen people-to- people exchanges.

China and New Zealand are important to each other both in terms of access to markets and as tourist destinations. The recovery of Chinas tourism market is speeding up. During the past Spring Festival holiday， outbound tourism orders increased by 640% year on year， and cross-border air ticket orders increased more than four times. People around the world have felt the strong driving force of Chinas economic recovery. China and New Zealand should deepen tourism cooperation under the Belt and Road Initiative， strengthen exploration and practice of cultural and tourism integration， and promote exchanges and cooperation between enterprises.

Angela， General Manager of International Affairs of Tourism New Zealand， said that before the pandemic， tourism was one of New Zealands national pillar industries. For many years in a row， China has been the second largest source of overseas tourists for New Zealand. Chinese tourists are not only high in number， but also high in quality. She believes that the reason why the Chinese tourist market is of great importance to New Zealand is that China has a large number of tourist source market， which is the most important support for New Zealand tourism practitioners to deepen the industry. To this end， the New Zealand governments tourism promotion in the major cities of China has never stopped， even during the three years since the pandemic when tourism was suspended in New Zealand. The organization has long used its Wechat official account to increase its influence， and plans to continue to increase the promotion of national tourism in New Zealand during the Shanghai Expo in 2023.

Auckland Airport is getting busier in 2023 as airlines accelerate their efforts to resume links with China， according to the head of Auckland Airports line and cargo services. He expects passenger traffic with China to recover to 70% to 80% of pre-pandemic levels by the end of 2023， a fasterthan-expected recovery. Wang Li， General Manager of China Southerns sales office in Auckland， said that on January 26， China Southern resumed direct flights from Guangzhou to Auckland from two flights a week during the epidemic to four flights a week. Starting from March 27， the number of flights will be increased to one per day， restoring the capacity to 70% of the same period in 2019， which will greatly facilitate bilateral personnel exchanges.

Cordis Hotel in Auckland said that in order to welcome the return of Chinese tourists， the hotel has recently strengthened the targeted services in terms of food and Chinese guidance， in order to optimize the experience of Chinese tourists.