Key opens pizza shop

It was all cheese after Prime Minister John Key arrived in China and headed straight to open a pizza shop and launch a documentary.

Mr Key arrived in Beijing this morning and was soon on his way to open Gungho Pizza Place - owned by New Zealanders Jade Gray and John O'Loghlen.

Decked out in an apron that dubbed him the Minister of Pizza, Mr Key officially opened the Gung Ho pizza shop in downtown Beijing.

After cutting the ribbon he made a couple of meatlovers pizzas for those gathered.

Mr Key's pizza went down well. Especially with son Max who was told he "better like it".

New Zealand's ambassador to China, Carl Worker, was also given an apron which read Ambassador of Pizzastan.

Mr Key said pizza was a huge takeaway food in New Zealand but having a potential market of 1.3 billion customers in China was a market most New Zealand businesses would dream of.

"That's a lot of pizzas."

Mr Key recalled meeting a woman who has run a pizza delivery business in Kabul, Afghanistan, for 10 years.

"Your task is a hell of a lot easier than hers," he said.

The Chinese pizza market was valued at US$1.8 billion ($2.6 billion) last year.

The name Gung Ho, derived from the Chinese say "work together", was originally coined in English by New Zealand-born author, teacher and Chinese Communist Party member Rewi Alley.

China's CCTV and Natural History New Zealand have released a five-part document series about Alley.

Alley spent nearly 60 years in China. He was recently named one of the top 10 foreign friends of China.

Originally from Springfield, Canterbury, Alley moved to China in 1927.

He wrote about the Communist Party and opened a technical school which still runs today.

The first episode of the documentary series will broadcast on July 9 in China, New Zealand's national day at the World Expo in Shanghai.

There were currently no buyers of the series in New Zealand.

Mr Key attended the launch of the series in Beijing this morning.

"Rewi Alley is hugely popular in China and New Zealand continues to gain significant benefits from his status as a well known and highly respected figure."

Reinforcing the positive image of Alley to an audience of more than 300 million would help strengthen the relationship with China, Mr Key said.

Mr Key now goes to his serious engagements -- meeting Premier Wen Jiabao and Vice-President Xi Jinping.

- NZPA