Summary
Waitomo Mayor John Robertson and Michael Guo, CEO of the Australia International Trade Association (AITA) and Executive President of the New Zealand International Exchange Centre, visited Hubei University of Economics on 19 October 2026. Vice-President He Huigang received the delegation, accompanied by heads of the Undergraduate School and the Office of International Exchange and Cooperation. He outlined the university's history, disciplinary strengths, talent cultivation and international cooperation, and expressed the hope to leverage AITA's resources and bridging role, along with the Waitomo municipal government and local enterprise resources, to pursue practical cooperation with New Zealand universities in joint programmes, research collaboration, faculty and student exchanges, and student internships, contributing educational strength to regional development and people-to-people connectivity.
Robertson thanked the university for its hospitality and introduced AITA and the New Zealand International Exchange Centre. In the discussion, the two sides exchanged views on joint student cultivation, faculty and student visits, and paid internships, reaching preliminary consensus.
Commentary
Waitomo Mayor John Robertson and AITA CEO Michael Guo's visit to Hubei University of Economics focused on education cooperation and talent exchange. Waitomo is known for tourism attractions such as its glowworm caves, but this cooperation leans more towards education services trade. Education exports are a significant services industry for New Zealand, and China is one of its largest sources of international students.
For NZ SMEs, such inter-university cooperation could bring internship and employment linkage opportunities, particularly in Waitomo's areas of strength such as tourism management and agricultural technology. The involvement of AITA also highlights a trend of regional collaboration, with NZ firms able to use such platforms to expand into education and training markets in China's second-tier cities. However, cooperation remains at the preliminary consensus stage, and the implementation of specific projects remains to be seen.
Hubei, a major education province in central China, may offer entry points for NZ education technology and vocational training SMEs through its university resources and industry demand.
Keywords: Waitomo, New Zealand, Australia International Trade Association, Hubei University of Economics, joint programmes, faculty and student exchanges, paid internships, international exchange and cooperation, John Robertson, Michael Guo
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Source: Hubei University of Economics
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