Auckland Business Chamber chief Bridges leads 22-strong trade delegation to Sichuan as economic ties deepen

Summary

Simon Bridges, chief executive of the Auckland Business Chamber, former leader of the New Zealand National Party and former Minister of Economic Development, Transport and Communications, is leading a 22-member Auckland business delegation to Sichuan from 7 September. Spanning trade, modern agriculture, clean energy and business services, the group is among the larger and more broadly representative New Zealand trade delegations to visit the province this year. On 8 September, acting on behalf of Zhang Tao, director-general of the Sichuan Foreign Affairs Office, deputy director-general Zhang Yechu met Bridges and his delegation to discuss deepening local friendship ties between Sichuan and New Zealand and expanding practical trade and investment cooperation.

Zhang Yechu noted that President Xi Jinping's meeting with Prime Minister Luxon during his visit to China in June last year had set new strategic direction for China-New Zealand relations, and that Sichuan and New Zealand had made solid progress in high-level exchanges and international sister-city development. The provincial foreign affairs office, working with relevant provincial economic departments and cities and prefectures, mapped out industry complementarities in advance and arranged several targeted trade and business matchmaking sessions. Bridges said New Zealand was the first developed country to sign a free trade agreement with China, and that the Auckland Business Chamber is ready to push for market openness, build matchmaking platforms and help the Auckland business community deepen exchanges with Sichuan across all fields.

Yang Jian, deputy head of the delegation, chairman of the New Zealand Chinese Business Association and a former MP, said the visit's platform was highly targeted and reached a broad spread of Sichuan companies, and that Chinese businesses would act as a bridge in future engagement. While in Sichuan, the delegation called on Ju Lei, member of the Mianyang Municipal Standing Committee and vice mayor, and vice mayor Zhang Yang, held talks with the Sichuan Provincial Economic Cooperation Bureau, the Sichuan Council for the Promotion of International Trade and relevant departments of Chengdu and Mianyang, took part in four company-specific matchmaking sessions, and visited businesses in Chengdu and Mianyang.

Commentary

Simon Bridges' 22-strong delegation to Sichuan, spanning trade, modern agriculture and clean energy, ranks among the larger New Zealand business groups to visit the province this year. Sichuan is the economic anchor of western China: its GDP topped RMB6 trillion in 2023, its resident population stands at about 83 million, and Chengdu serves as the region's consumption and logistics hub, with China-Europe rail services and a dual-airport system extending reach across southwest China and into Southeast Asia. For New Zealand SMEs dependent on dairy, meat and fruit exports, Sichuan is not a traditional coastal gateway, but the province's early mapping of industry complementarities and its four business matchmaking sessions materially cut the search costs of entering an unfamiliar market.

On the positive side, New Zealand holds differentiated strengths in agricultural technology, grass-fed dairy and geothermal energy, while Sichuan is building modern agricultural parks and a clean energy demonstration province. Their complementarity in seed breeding, food processing and low-carbon technology offers Auckland SMEs concrete entry points, particularly by using the chamber's platform to bypass large traders and reach local buyers directly. The cautious view is that local agricultural players such as New Hope and Tongwei are highly competitive on cost and channels, and acceptance of imported premium food in western China remains concentrated in core cities such as Chengdu, with a long education cycle for lower-tier markets.

Although New Zealand was the first developed country to sign a free trade agreement with China, dairy and meat quotas and inspection and quarantine procedures still carry uncertainty at the local port level, and SMEs need to assess logistics and compliance costs in full. The delegation's visit to Mianyang Science and Technology City points to a further option: Mianyang's manufacturing strength in electronic information and new materials could open supply-chain cooperation rather than one-way exports. If local-level, targeted matchmaking keeps running, the chamber's platform could become a replicable market-access channel, but whether deals land will depend on follow-up trust-building and contract execution between the companies involved.

Keywords: Auckland Business Chamber, Simon Bridges, Sichuan, trade and economic cooperation, China-New Zealand relations, Auckland business community, Yang Jian, business matchmaking sessions, Mianyang, Sichuan Foreign Affairs Office

Summary in Chinese | 摘要

新西兰奥克兰商会首席执行官、前新西兰国家党魁、前经济发展、交通和通信部长西蒙·布里吉斯率奥克兰工商界代表团一行22人，自9月7日起访问四川。代表团覆盖贸易、现代农业、清洁能源、商务服务等领域，是今年以来新西兰赴川规模较大、行业代表性较强的经贸代表团之一。9月8日，受四川省外事办主任张涛委托，副主任张业初会见布里吉斯一行，围绕深化四川与新西兰地方友好交往、拓展经贸投资务实合作交流。

张业初提到，去年6月习近平主席会见访华的拉克森总理，为中新关系发展作出新的战略引领；四川与新西兰在高层互访、国际友城建设等领域取得积极成效。省外事办会同省内相关经济部门及有关市（州）提前梳理产业契合点，安排多场精准化经贸与商务对接洽谈。布里吉斯表示，新西兰是第一个与中国签署自由贸易协定的发达国家，奥克兰商会愿推动市场开放、搭建对接平台，促进奥克兰工商界与四川加强各领域交流。

代表团副团长、新西兰华商联合总会主席、前国会议员杨健表示，此次访川交流平台针对性强、川企覆盖面广，未来将发挥华商桥梁纽带作用。在川期间，代表团拜会绵阳市委常委、副市长鞠雷、副市长张洋，与省经济合作局、省贸促会、成都市及绵阳市相关部门交流，参与四场企业专项对接会，并赴成都市及绵阳市相关企业参访。

Commentary in Chinese | 评论

奥克兰商会首席执行官布里吉斯率22人代表团访问四川，覆盖贸易、现代农业、清洁能源等领域，是今年以来新西兰赴川规模较大的经贸团组之一。四川作为中国西部经济龙头，2023年GDP突破6万亿元，常住人口约8300万，成都更是西部消费与物流枢纽，中欧班列和双机场体系辐射西南乃至东南亚。对依赖乳制品、肉类、水果出口的新西兰中小企业而言，四川并非传统沿海口岸，但此次川方提前梳理产业契合点并安排四场企业对接会，显著降低了中小企业进入陌生市场的搜寻成本。

积极视角看，新西兰在农业科技、草饲乳品、地热能源方面有差异化优势，而四川正推进现代农业园区和清洁能源示范省建设，双方在种业、食品加工、低碳技术上的互补性为奥克兰中小企业提供了具体切入场景，尤其是借助商会平台绕过大型贸易商直接对接地方采购商。谨慎视角则需注意，四川本地农业企业如新希望、通威股份在成本与渠道上竞争力强，且中国西部市场对进口高端食品的接受度仍集中在成都等核心城市，下沉市场教育周期较长。此外，新西兰虽为首个与中国签署自贸协定的发达国家，但乳制品、肉类配额和检验检疫程序在地方口岸执行层面仍有不确定性，中小企业需充分评估物流与合规成本。

此次代表团专门赴绵阳科技城参访，绵阳在电子信息、新材料领域的制造能力或为新西兰企业提供供应链合作选项，而非仅单向出口。地方层面的精准对接机制若持续运转，有望将奥克兰商会的平台资源转化为可复制的市场准入通道，但能否真正落地仍取决于后续跟进的企业间信任构建与合同执行。

关键词: 奥克兰商会, 西蒙·布里吉斯, 四川, 经贸合作, 中新关系, 奥克兰工商界, 杨健, 企业对接会, 绵阳, 省外事办

Source: Sichuan Foreign Affairs