Chinese Premier Li Keqiang pledged deeper trade ties with New Zealand at a news conference on Monday, March 27, during his New Zealand visit.
Li and and New Zealand Prime Minister Bill English witnessed a signing ceremony between government ministers before the joint news conference.
China is the largest trading partner to both Australia and New Zealand.
Trade was also a major focus of Li’s visit to Australia last week, and a long-awaited extradition treaty between Australia and China was also open for discussion.
But the Turnbull government announced on March 28 that the extradition treaty would not be passed through Parliament.
New Zealand has long been more supportive of China’s global ambitions than some of its other Western allies.
It was the first Western country to sign a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with China in 2008 and the first to join the China-initiated Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank.
New Zealand and China are now working on upgrading the FTA, which Li said was essential in a climate of rising protectionism.
English and New Zealand Reserve Bank Governor Graeme Wheeler, echoed that the tightening of global trade is the biggest threat to their country’s prosperity.
New Zealand’s $180 billion economy depends heavily on exports.
