Palmerston North Mayor Grant Smith Visits Xi’an University

Summary

Palmerston North Mayor Grant Smith visited the Palmerston North College at Xi'an University on 20 October 2026, accompanied by Shaun Li, transnational education adviser at UCOL. President Liu Bo, Vice-President Gong Jiechang, heads of the party and government office, academic affairs office and international exchange office, members of the Palmerston North College leadership team and representatives of the 2026 intake attended a discussion. Liu said the university began applying in 2015 to establish a joint programme with New Zealand institutions, and after a decade of effort the Palmerston North College was officially unveiled in June 2026.

The college was deliberately named after Palmerston North to commemorate the friendship between the two cities, and he hoped the visit would mark the start of deeper cooperation on youth exchanges, cultural exchange and a sister-city relationship. Smith congratulated the college on bearing the city's name and on its approval, noted that Palmerston North and Xi'an share similar national geographic positions and both play important educational roles, and said UCOL, with a century of history and an international education strategy, looked forward to deeper cooperation on staff and student exchanges, academic exchange and the digital industry. During the visit the college outlined the history and progress of China-New Zealand education cooperation, and 2026 intake representatives shared their impressions under the theme 'Palmerston North in my eyes', with Smith interacting warmly with students.

The visit strengthened understanding between Xi'an University, Palmerston North and UCOL, and the university will continue to use the China-New Zealand platform to expand international education exchanges.

Commentary

Palmerston North Mayor Grant Smith's visit to the Palmerston North College at Xi'an University highlights a shift in China-New Zealand education cooperation from policy frameworks to local delivery. Palmerston North is an important agricultural and education centre, and its polytechnic UCOL is known for applied training; its partnership with Xi'an University focuses on the digital industry, matching New Zealand's strategic needs in skill-shortage areas. For NZ SMEs, such cooperation is not only education export but may also generate two-way business opportunities: New Zealand education providers operating in China can drive demand for local support services such as curriculum design, education technology tools and student services, while Chinese students' interest in New Zealand culture may translate into demand for tourism, consumer goods and online education content.

NZ SMEs should watch the market-access signals behind such cooperation — local-level education partnerships often precede broader trade facilitation arrangements, and early positioning in Chinese-language content marketing, cross-border payment solutions or education tourism products could secure an advantage. If a sister-city relationship between Palmerston North and Xi'an is formally established, it would give SMEs in both places a government-backed platform that lowers initial trust costs. However, the commercial conversion cycle for education cooperation is long, and NZ SMEs need to assess whether their resources match long-term commitment rather than chasing short-term trends.

Keywords: Palmerston North, Grant Smith, Xi'an University, Palmerston North College, China-New Zealand education cooperation, UCOL, sister-city relationship, staff and student exchanges, joint programme, people-to-people exchange

Source: Xi'an University