NZ can boost trade with top partner, envoy says

The Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership will usher in fresh opportunities for services trade and investment between China and New Zealand, augmenting buoyant bilateral trade relations, Wellington's top diplomat to Beijing said.

The signing on Sunday of the world's largest free-trade deal－taking in 15 Asia-Pacific countries, including China and New Zealand-"helps to put the signatories in a better position to recover from the economic impacts of COVID-19 and seize new opportunities for exports and investment", New Zealand Ambassador to China Clare Fearnley said.

"Signing a significant regional trade agreement such as RCEP helps to show support for international trade rules, which small and large countries alike benefit from. This is particularly important at a time of economic turbulence and when we're seeing increasing protectionism," she said.