WELLINGTON: New Zealand’s Trade Minister Tim Grosser has traveled to China on February 28, 2015, to engage in talks on expanding the nations’ free trade agreement.
The customs authorities of New Zealand and China recently agreed to establish a system to enhance trade facilitation under the existing FTA between the two countries. “The FTA continues to serve us well, with strong bilateral trade flows,” Groser said ahead of his meeting with Chinese Trade Minister Gao Hucheng. “The meeting will be the first preliminary discussion to discuss areas where potential improvements can be made.”
Since the FTA came into force in 2008, two-way trade has doubled, and New Zealand’s exports to China have more than quadrupled. The New Zealand Government said the FTA provides the two countries with the institutional structure and enhanced official relationships to support the broader development of the nations’ economic relationship. Total exports to China in 2014 accounted for one-fifth of New Zealand’s annual global exports, and China is New Zealand’s largest source of imported goods.
