Li Qiang, Luxon discuss trade, services talks in phone call

Summary

Premier Li Qiang took a phone call from New Zealand Prime Minister Christopher Luxon on the afternoon of 12 October. Li said China-New Zealand relations continue to advance steadily and cooperation in various fields is making new progress. The international situation, he said, is undergoing complex changes, with unilateralism and protectionism continuing to hit the world economy and the international community increasingly vocal in calling for safeguarding the multilateral system and strengthening open cooperation.

China and New Zealand, both supporters and practitioners of multilateralism and free trade, should carry out more communication and coordination, Li said. Next year the two countries will mark the 55th anniversary of diplomatic relations. China is ready to work with New Zealand to carry forward traditional friendship, expand mutually beneficial cooperation and keep deepening and substantiating the China-New Zealand comprehensive strategic partnership.

Li said China will always be a partner of mutual respect and mutual benefit with New Zealand, and will continue to expand and upgrade bilateral trade in goods, actively tap the potential of trade in services, and expand cooperation in areas such as new energy vehicles, photovoltaics and wind power. He expressed the hope that both sides will speed up negotiations on the negative list for trade in services under the China-New Zealand free trade agreement and achieve substantive results at an early date. The two sides should provide more facilitation for expanding personnel exchanges and deepen exchanges and cooperation in culture, tourism, education, youth and local areas.

China and New Zealand are both members of the Asia-Pacific family, and China is ready to strengthen cooperation with New Zealand in APEC and actively advance the building of an Asia-Pacific community, Li said. Luxon said New Zealand-China relations are developing steadily and cooperation in various fields is being advanced in a solid manner, benefiting the people of both countries. New Zealand attaches great importance to its relations with China, firmly pursues the one-China policy, and is willing to take next year's celebration of the 55th anniversary of diplomatic relations as an opportunity to maintain close high-level exchanges with China, deepen mutual understanding and trust, and deepen practical cooperation in trade, tourism, new energy and other fields, so as to advance the comprehensive strategic partnership between the two countries.

New Zealand supports China in hosting the APEC Economic Leaders' Meeting. The two sides also exchanged views on international and regional issues of common concern.

Commentary

The phone call between the premiers of China and New Zealand sends a clear signal of deepening economic and trade cooperation, with particular focus on negotiations on the negative list for trade in services and cooperation in new energy. For New Zealand small and medium-sized enterprises, opening up trade in services could lower market access thresholds in sectors such as accounting, education and tourism, while cooperation in new energy vehicles, photovoltaics and wind power brings opportunities for technology introduction and supply chain integration. Against the backdrop of global supply chain restructuring, New Zealand, as a CPTPP member, can help stabilise regional trade rules through cooperation with China under the APEC framework.

However, SMEs need to pay attention to the specific terms of the negative list negotiations and assess the compliance costs and competitive pressure of their own service exports. Large exporters such as Fonterra are already deeply tied to the Chinese market, and SMEs can leverage their channels or focus on niche areas such as organic dairy products and Maori cultural experiences. In new energy cooperation, New Zealand has unique advantages in energy storage technology and geothermal power generation that can be matched with China's manufacturing capacity, but technology transfer and intellectual property risks need to be guarded against.

The 55th anniversary of diplomatic relations may promote facilitation of personnel exchanges, and the tourism and education sectors can prepare in advance by building Chinese-language service capabilities.

Keywords: Li Qiang, Luxon, China-New Zealand relations, 55th anniversary of diplomatic relations, free trade agreement, negative list for trade in services, APEC, one-China policy

Source: Sichuan United Front