Hon Phil Goff
Minister for Trade Negotiations

03 October 2006
Media statement

China and NZ Have Meaningful Trade Dialogue

"New Zealand and China had worthwhile and wide-ranging consultations at the second Joint Ministerial Commission (JMC) meeting in Auckland yesterday", said Trade Minister Phil Goff.

"We had extensive discussions about the Free Trade Agreement currently under negotiation. We reaffirmed this needs to be comprehensive, high quality, balanced and mutually acceptable for both countries. Negotiators must continue to seek these outcomes so we can reach a conclusion in line with the instructions of our leaders.

"We welcomed progress in other aspects of the bilateral trade and economic relationship and agreed we should seek to cooperate in implementing the FTA in due course.

"We agreed we should both seek to find ways to reinvigorate the WTO Doha trade negotiations, and shared perspectives on the current state of play and outlook.

"We also talked about APEC, the East Asia Summit process and other regional developments. China and New Zealand have many shared interests. The JMC is a good vehicle for theses exchanges", said Mr Goff and Mr Bo.

The next round of FTA negotiations with China will take place in New Zealand beginning on 9 October.

ENDS

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