Chengdu, Auckland chamber forge long-term mechanism to drive trade links

Summary

Chengdu hosted the "Open Chengdu · Linking the World" China-New Zealand trade and business matchmaking conference on 7 September, where a 20-strong trade delegation led by Auckland Chamber of Commerce chief executive Simon Bridges met more than 80 representatives from Chengdu government departments, industry associations and companies to discuss industrial cooperation. The Chengdu Centre for Opening-up and Cooperation Promotion set out its "five-pronged foreign-related linkage" system, while the Chengdu Investment Promotion Bureau outlined the local business environment, investment opportunities and policy support. Bridges said the delegation brought leading companies in biomedicine, green building, food, clean energy, cybersecurity and snow-and-ice tourism, and looked forward to connecting with Chengdu firms.

During the event, the Chengdu centre awarded the Auckland Chamber an "Open Chengdu" overseas partner plaque, with the two sides to build a long-term cooperation mechanism covering trade information sharing, business delegation exchanges and industrial cooperation. In a pitch session, five New Zealand companies and five Chengdu companies presented products and technologies, followed by one-on-one talks covering biomedicine, food trade, building materials and home furnishings, and green energy. Chengdu and New Zealand have a long history of engagement: a friendly cooperation relationship with the Waikato region in 1996, a sister-city agreement with Hamilton in 2015 that marks its eleventh anniversary this year, and the resumption of direct Chengdu-Auckland flights in 2024.

China has long been New Zealand's largest goods trading partner, and Sichuan's cooperation with New Zealand is deepening across food trade, tourism and culture, education and technology.

Commentary

Chengdu's long-term cooperation mechanism with the Auckland Chamber of Commerce gives New Zealand small and medium-sized enterprises a concrete entry point into China's western market. The chamber's 20-member delegation spans biomedicine, green building, food, clean energy, cybersecurity and snow-and-ice tourism — sectors that align closely with New Zealand's strengths. Food is a case in point: New Zealand dairy, meat and honey products are well recognised in China, but major exporters such as Fonterra and Zespri dominate the main channels, leaving SMEs short of the ability to plug directly into inland distribution networks.

Chengdu, a consumption hub for western China with a catchment of more than 200 million people and direct air links to Auckland for both freight and passengers, keeps trade costs for fresh food and tourism services relatively manageable. Through trade information sharing and business exchanges under the "five-pronged foreign-related linkage" system, SMEs can cut the cost of trial and error in early market research — though China's complex registration, labelling and quarantine requirements for food imports mean compliance costs should not be underestimated. On the other side, Chengdu's green building and clean energy markets are growing quickly, and New Zealand has mature experience in timber building materials and geothermal technology.

But domestic suppliers and European and American competitors are already well established, and price competition is intense. New Zealand firms entering with high-end, sustainable solutions need to assess local certification and project delivery timelines in advance. The mechanism's long-term value lies in reducing information asymmetry, but whether it converts into actual orders depends on each company's localisation efforts and follow-through.

With direct flights restored, business travel between the two places is easier — a direct boost for sectors that depend on the movement of people, such as snow-and-ice tourism and education services.

Keywords: Chengdu, Auckland Chamber of Commerce, China-New Zealand trade cooperation, Open Chengdu, long-term cooperation mechanism, trade matchmaking, Simon Bridges, five-pronged foreign-related linkage, sister city, direct flights

Source: Baidu Search