Trade conference seals ties with New Zealand

Shanxi province showcased its investment and trade opportunities to the New Zealand business community during a promotional event last week.

The event, the Shanxi-New Zealand Trade and Investment Promotion Conference, was held in the island country on Nov 13. It was a part of a large promotional campaign called Shanxi Brands on the Silk Road, a move aiming to enhance trade and investment cooperation between Shanxi and the countries and regions involved in the Belt and Road Initiative.

New Zealand and China are important trade and investment partners to each other.

Over the past years, China has been the largest trading partner, the largest source of exports and the largest destination of imports for New Zealand. The two countries have also kept close cooperation in the fields of education, sciences, technologies, culture and tourism.

Shanxi is a part and a beneficiary of the booming ties.

In July, John Key, former prime minister of New Zealand, visited Taiyuan, witnessing the launch of the China-New Zealand Cultural Exchange Center. The center integrates cultural elements from New Zealand and Shanxi, allowing locals in Shanxi to experience the unique charm of New Zealand culture without leaving their homeland.

At the Nov 13 conference in New Zealand, Shanxi's trade and investment promotion officials and executives from Shanxi Culture and Tourism Group introduced Shanxi's business opportunities and tourism resources to local guests.

Li Haiyuan, chairman of the Shanxi Committee of the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade, said there is great potential for cooperation because of the complementary nature of the economies of both sides.

He said that Shanxi is one of the cradles of Chinese civilization and its 5,000 years of history has left numerous resources for the cultural tourism industry.

He noted that Shanxi is implementing a number of development initiatives, including an economic transformation from coal reliance to industrial diversification; an energy revolution program to upgrade traditional coal mining and grow its new energy sectors; and campaigns to develop a new hub of opening-up for China's inland regions and to build a base for advanced manufacturing. He added that these fields can create huge opportunities for trade and investment cooperation between the two sides.

As New Zealand is a country with comparative advantages in the industries of dairy production, animal husbandry, tourism and education, he said Shanxi hopes to develop closer collaborations in these fields with the country. And he also said he hopes the business community in New Zealand can cooperate with Shanxi in the sectors of farming machinery, the digital economy and medical services.

During the conference, businesses from the two sides signed agreements for cooperation in a range of areas that include tourism development, media and biopharmaceuticals.

Meng Ting contributed to this story.