High stakes behind delay in China trade deal, says Clark

A free trade agreement with China is taking time because New Zealand is the first Western country to negotiate one and China is sensitive about setting precedents, Prime Minister Helen Clark said today.

She met Chinese President Hu Jintao during the Apec (Asia Pacific Economic Co-operation) Summit in Busan, South Korea, during the weekend.

She said after the meeting the negotiations were "going very well" and officials confirmed they were on track.

Helen Clark is refusing to put a deadline on the deal, and said today she had never done so.

The negotiations with China began late last year, and the Prime Minister said New Zealand's free trade agreement with Singapore had taken a year to complete.

"That was far less complicated," she said today. "The key issue is that we are the first Western economy to enter negotiations with China. Therefore there's high stakes for China and high stakes for us.

"They have an eye on what precedents they set with us, just as we have an eye to getting a comprehensive and good deal that looks after our interests.

"That's why it will take a while."

China is negotiating several free trade agreements with different countries, although New Zealand is the only developed nation involved.

It concluded an agreement with Chile, although little detail is available about its terms.

Helen Clark said New Zealand and Chile were not comparable because Chile was not an OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development) country.

- NZPA