New Zealand looks to expand free trade with China

New Zealand is projecting a positive outlook for its ties with China as Premier Li Keqiang arrives in the country for an official visit.

CRI's Ding Heng report.

Premier Li Keqiang is scheduled to meet with his New Zealand counterpart Bill English and New Zealand Governor General Patsy Reddy during his four-day visit to the country.

Arthur Loo, co-founder and partner of Loo & Koo, an Asia-focused law firm in New Zealand, says the visit is a great opportunity for the two sides to get to know one another better.

"All the countries around the world probably want a strong relationship with China. They have trade issues. We also want to understand China better, If you understand another country better, the culture better, the people better, then differences can be talked about, discussed, and hopefully resolved."

The visit comes just a few days after Australia secured an expansion of free trade with China during Premier Li's visit to the country, which, to a large extent, is a competitor of New Zealand in agricultural exports.

The 180-billion-US-dollar New Zealand economy relies heavily on demand from foreign markets.

Former New Zealand Prime Minister, John Key, had lobbied hard for TPP, the 12-country Asia-Pacific trade deal to which New Zealand is a party.

But the efforts ended up mostly in vain after US President Donald Trump decided to withdraw from the free trade agreement in January.

Last Friday, Prime Minister Bill English announced a new push to promote free trade in his first major trade policy announcement since taking office in December.

According to his plan, New Zealand is to make free-trade agreements cover 90-percent of the country's exports by 2030, up from the current 50 percent.

Lu Bo, a current affairs commentator from New Zealand's Chinese community, suggests an upgrade of the bilateral free trade agreement with China is perhaps the main issue New Zealand is looking at during Premier Li Keqiang's visit.

"After the signing of the trade deal in 2008, the two sides had aimed to increase the bilateral trade volume to 20 billion New Zealand dollars by 2020. Actually, the goal has already been reached. I think by 2020, it is possible to exceed 30 million New Zealand dollars. So if we could take a step further and upgrade the deal, trade will go more smoothly, and that is really important to New Zealand."

In the developed world, New Zealand maintains perhaps one of the best relationships with China.

Back in 2004, it became the first developed country to recognize China as a market economy, something the US and European Union are still refusing to do today.

The move, which was positive in reducing anti-dumping measures in bilateral trade, paved the way for the signing of a landmark bilateral trade deal 4 years later.

The Oceanian country has also played a pioneering role in joining the China-proposed Asia Infrastructure Investment Bank.

Apart from economic matters, Lu Bo suggests Premier Li Keqaing's visit could have a geopolitical effect as well.

"Indeed, his trip is likely to create more stability for regions around the South China Sea. New Zealand, and of course Australia as well, will have a better understanding of China's stance on the South China Sea issue, thus take a more cautious and considerate approach on this issue."

Unlike its bigger neighbor, New Zealand has barely criticized China over the South China Sea.

A rare exception is the country's Defense Minister, Gerry Brownlee, who made remarks China didn't like during a security forum held in Beijing last October.

But most local media outlets expect the latest visit to usher in a new chapter in the bilateral relations.

For CRI, this is Ding Heng.