Hon Steven Joyce
Minister for Economic Development

Hon Todd McClay
Associate Minister of Trade

23 September 2015 Media Statement
Ministers attend NZ-China Partnership Forum

Economic Development Minister Steven Joyce and Associate Trade Minister Todd McClay will today join senior business and government representatives at the second New Zealand-China Partnership Forum in Beijing.

“The New Zealand-China Partnership Forum is an important platform for deepening and strengthening the economic and political relationship between our two countries. This Forum will build on the successful inaugural Forum held in 2013, which I attended alongside Prime Minister John Key and several of my ministerial colleagues,” Mr Joyce says.

The Forum, which will include sessions on food safety, tourism, investment and people-to-people links, will showcase the deepening strategic economic and trade partnership between New Zealand and China. Participants from both countries, from the public and private sectors, will explore the opportunities and challenges at the forefront of the relationship, and help pave the path for future collaboration.

Mr Joyce and Mr McClay will both speak at the Partnership Forum Opening Plenary today.

“New Zealand and China have strong, innovative businesses that can achieve a lot on their own, but they can achieve much more in partnership,” Mr Joyce says.

He will also speak at an investment session, which will explore the changing face of two-way investment, and which has attracted significant interest within New Zealand. His focus will be on the mutually beneficial aspects of the investment relationship.

Mr McClay will also travel to Shanghai for the second leg of the Partnership Forum focusing on ‘disruptive change’. The Forum will look at ways of positioning New Zealand for change and dynamism in its relationship with China.

“It is important that we remember our relationship with China is about more than just trade and economic issues,” Mr McClay says. “It’s about the interaction of our people, cultures and language.”

Mr McClay will lead a breakout session on tourism, one of the fastest growing areas of mutual benefit in New Zealand’s relationship with China. Visitor numbers from China exceeded 315,000 in the year ending July 2015, up 30% year on year.

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