Summary
On the morning of 20 June 2025, President Xi Jinping met with New Zealand Prime Minister Christopher Luxon, who is on an official visit to China, at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing. Xi noted that over more than 50 years of diplomatic relations, China-New Zealand relations have always been based on mutual respect and working together, and have long been at the forefront of China's relations with Western developed countries. The two sides should deepen trade and investment cooperation, tap potential in areas such as scientific and technological innovation, addressing climate change, and infrastructure, and strengthen exchanges in education, culture, and youth.
Luxon said New Zealand attaches great importance to relations with China, adheres to the one-China policy, and is willing to expand trade and investment, deepen cooperation in agriculture, fisheries, and the dairy industry, enhance people-to-people exchanges, jointly uphold the multilateral trading system, and support China in hosting the APEC meeting next year. Wang Yi attended the meeting.
Commentary
This meeting sends a clear signal to New Zealand's small and medium-sized enterprises: the bilateral relationship is stable and cooperation is likely to deepen. For companies involved in dairy and agricultural exports, there may be more convenient market access and tariff concessions; tourism and education sectors will also benefit from enhanced people-to-people exchanges. However, global uncertainties remain, and upholding the multilateral trading system is a common challenge – businesses need to monitor the pace of policy implementation.
From another perspective, the trend of consumption upgrading in the Chinese market requires New Zealand enterprises to enhance branding and quality; a model relying solely on resource exports needs to transition towards higher value-added directions. Overall, a stable relationship creates a window for long-term cooperation for SMEs, but they need to actively engage with specific policies and flexibly respond to competition.
Keywords: Xi Jinping, Christopher Luxon, China-New Zealand relations, trade cooperation, comprehensive strategic partnership, multilateral trading system, dairy industry, agriculture, people-to-people exchanges
Source: Chinese Embassy in New Zealand – Bilateral Relations
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