Kiwi business people will have to be smart. Australia, for instance, is now facing strong competition in the hard commodities space from Africa.

If the economy ended 2012 with a reasonable head of steam up, it maintained it over the first three months of this year.

A New Zealand-developed process for dying wool hailed as a world first in the textile industry has been snapped up by a US active wear manufacturer.

The length of visas for China's frequent travellers to New Zealand will be extended, Prime Minister John Key has announced in Shanghai.

Fonterra will launch its own infant formula brand in China this year as it looks to grab a slice of the booming market for the product in the Asian superpower.

PM's aim is for the two countries to create food supply chains, writes Fran O'Sullivan.

Dairy giant to pick up the premium it has so far left on the table, writes Fran O'Sullivan.

Key's bilateral talks with Chinese premier Li Keqiang have a serious agenda.

The Hobbit is providing an incentive for Tourism NZ to promote NZ to Chinese visitors writes Brierley Penn.

Chinese telecommunications giant Huawei seems to have emerged unscathed from suggestions last year it could pose a security threat to this country.

China Southern Airlines says New Zealand should be doing more for the growing number of Chinese tourists coming here.

Nicola Morris is confident Fonterra is positioning itself well to meet the challenges of the Chinese market.

Taranaki Dairy Technologies' Howard Moore talks about the highs and lows of doing dairy in the Middle Kingdom.

The key to unlocking the huge opportunities for NZ's food and beverage exporters in China will be found on the plates and in the shopping baskets of the increasingly wealthy urban Chinese, writes David Green.

The groundwork has been laid for a successful relationship, says Rod MacKenzie.