Chen Mingming: Golden opportunity for two countries

COMMENT

As China's economy grows, the consumer market expands greatly. China's economic growth has brought unprecedented prosperity to its people.

As the Chinese are becoming better off, they want to eat better and live in better houses.

This has led to increasing demand for overseas goods and services, including dairy and forestry products as well as tourist and educational services. New Zealand, which is important in these fields, is ideally placed to meet China's growing demand.

During the past decade, China-New Zealand trade has registered double-digit growth.

Last year, it reached US$1.8 billion, growing by 30 per cent over the year before.

China is now New Zealand's fourth largest trade partner, one of the three main markets for New Zealand dairy products, the third largest buyer of New Zealand lamb and the fifth largest market for New Zealand forest products.

Obviously, with the fast growth of economic and trade ties, it is time for China and New Zealand to put in place a long-term arrangement to fully tap the huge potential in their trading relationship. Therefore the negotiation of a free trade agreement was put on schedule.

Only two years ago, no one in China or New Zealand would believe that a trade agreement between the two countries was possible.

But now, the public response from both countries has been overwhelmingly positive. The trade agreement talks between China and New Zealand are a persuasive indication that the China-New Zealand relationship has reached maturity.

A free trade agreement is important to both countries. For China, it will be the first free trade agreement to be concluded with a developed country. For New Zealand, it will be a rare opportunity to expand its presence in the world's second largest market.

China's increased imports from New Zealand will ease pressure on its deficient resources, and its consumers will have unfettered access to quality New Zealand dairy and meat products.

And New Zealand consumers will have better access to quality but low-priced Chinese manufactured goods.

Of course, there are bound to be losers as well as winners.

But the vastly increased trade access will generate such huge traffic of goods and services that the gains will far outweigh any losses.

There is no doubt that both countries will emerge as winners from such a deal.


* Chen Mingming, Ambassador, People's Republic of China


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