Han Zheng Meets Canadian, Danish Guests

Summary

On 18 June 2026, Vice-President Han Zheng met in Beijing with a delegation of entrepreneurs led by Canadian Minister of Industry François-Philippe Champagne and with Novo Nordisk Foundation Chair Sten Scheibye. Han said that China and Canada's economies are highly complementary, and expressed willingness to strengthen cooperation in new energy vehicles,

artificial intelligence and other fields; he hoped that Novo Nordisk would participate in the Healthy China initiative, and that China would optimise the business environment to support foreign investment. Both the Canadian and Danish sides expressed willingness to deepen cooperation.

Commentary

Although this news does not directly involve New Zealand, it signals China's commitment to opening up and prioritising the health industry. For New Zealand small and medium-sized enterprises, there may be two indirect effects: first, the consumption upgrade trend for healthy foods and supplements will be driven by policy, and attention should be paid to the growing demand for high-quality natural products under China's Healthy China strategy; second, China's continuous improvement of the business environment means compliance costs for New Zealand brands entering the Chinese market may decrease, but increased competition should be noted. On the other hand, deeper cooperation between China and Canada and Denmark may divert China's demand for dairy and meat products, so New Zealand exporters should strengthen their own brand differentiation.

Overall, China's friendly attitude towards foreign enterprises may create a cooperation window for New Zealand SMEs, but attention must be paid to the implementation of specific industry policies.

Keywords: Han Zheng, Canada, Denmark, Healthy China, foreign-invested enterprises, business environment, new energy vehicles, artificial intelligence, Novo Nordisk, China-Canada relations

Source: Embassy of the People's Republic of China in New Zealand