Ambassador Wang Xiaolong addresses Māori-China business dinner hosted by Te Taumata

Summary

Ambassador Wang Xiaolong addressed a Māori-China business exchange dinner in Wellington on 14 September, hosted by New Zealand Māori trade organisation Te Taumata. About 30 people attended, including representatives of Māori enterprises from across the North and South Islands and representatives of Chinese companies investing in New Zealand, among them Bank of China, ICBC, China Construction Bank and Hunan Construction Investment. Wang said China and Māori have a long history of exchanges and deep ties.

The Māori economy is an important part of the New Zealand economy and plays a significant role in promoting China-New Zealand bilateral trade and economic cooperation, he said. This year is the opening year of China's 15th Five-Year Plan and also APEC China Year. China remains committed to high-level opening up and provides broad opportunities for partners around the world, including Māori enterprises.

Wang encouraged Māori enterprises to deepen cooperation with Chinese companies and make greater contributions to the development of China-New Zealand relations.

Commentary

The Māori economy operates through trusts and collective ownership and covers high-value exports including dairy, honey, seafood and forestry. Tourism and cultural experience services are also rising within China-New Zealand services trade. As a Māori trade promotion body, Te Taumata's engagement with the Chinese embassy and with Chinese banks and companies is essentially about building a channel for Māori SMEs to connect with Chinese market resources.

On the opportunities, the opening year of China's 15th Five-Year Plan and APEC China Year emphasise high-level openness, potentially driving bilateral trade facilitation — particularly by reducing non-tariff barriers in categories such as mānuka honey, seafood, beef and lamb. New Zealand branches of Bank of China, ICBC and China Construction Bank can provide trade finance and cross-border RMB settlement, easing cash-flow pressure on Māori enterprises. On the challenges, Māori SMEs generally lack brand recognition and distribution networks in the Chinese market.

They also need to meet China's registration, labelling and organic certification requirements for imported food, while some products face price competition from suppliers in other countries. The dinner's substantive outcomes remain to be seen. If concrete supply-demand matchmaking or a memorandum of cooperation follows, it would mark a step by the Māori economy from resource exports to branded cooperation with China.

Keywords: Ambassador Wang Xiaolong, Māori trade organisation Te Taumata, Māori-China business exchange dinner, Wellington, China-New Zealand trade and economic cooperation, 15th Five-Year Plan, APEC China Year, high-level opening up, Māori enterprises, Chinese enterprises

Source: Chinese Embassy in New Zealand – New Zealand-China Relations