Beijing, June 28 (BNA): New Zealand Prime Minister Chris Hepkins discussed his country’s interest in strengthening economic relations with China during a meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing today, Tuesday.
Hipkins said the focus of his meeting with Xi was “to reaffirm our close economic relationship by supporting companies to renew their relationships with their Chinese counterparts and helping to develop new relationships to support New Zealand’s economic recovery.”
According to the Associated Press (AP), Hipkins is on a five-day visit to China, his first since becoming prime minister in January, along with a business delegation representing fields including tourism and education.
Before starting his visit, he described New Zealand’s relationship with China as “an important part of our economic recovery.”
New Zealand officially entered recession this month after its economy contracted for two consecutive quarters.
Officials say China is key to three of New Zealand’s engines of economic recovery after the pandemic: exports, tourism and education.
China is New Zealand’s largest export market, and over the years Wellington has managed to maintain warmer relations with Beijing than some of its Western allies. New Zealand has issued critical statements about China’s human rights and foreign policy practices, but has generally seen less friction with China than other countries in the region such as Australia.
Xi hailed the “great importance” of China-New Zealand relations, saying that Hipkins’ visit was “of great significance,” according to the official Xinhua News Agency.
Earlier in the day, Hipkins attended a World Economic Forum meeting in the Chinese port city of Tianjin along with other foreign officials and joined a signing ceremony for four New Zealand exporters and their Chinese counterparts, according to a statement from his office.
On Wednesday, he is scheduled to meet Chinese Premier Li Qiang.
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