The Ministry of Commerce announced that an upgrade to China’s free trade agreement with New Zealand will enter into force on April 7, paving the way for further economic and trade cooperation between the two nations. Wang Peng, Researcher at the Huazhong University of Science and Technology’s Institute for State Governance, said the upgrade marked a new landmark since China signed the bilateral FTA with New Zealand in 2008 – its first with a developed country. Wang said the upgraded FTA is part of the country’s ongoing efforts to implement its free trade zones upgrading strategy and build a network of high-standard free trade zones with global reach. “It will help boost confidence in the world economy amid the impact of Covid-19, demonstrating China’s firm determination to deepen reforms and opening-up,” Wang added.
Wang said the upgraded FTA between the two nations will complement the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) agreement signed in 2020 by 15 countries in the Asia-Pacific region including China and New Zealand, as it can tackle specific issues in fields such as digital trade. “The upgrade protocol emphasizes that China will seek further cooperation in investment in the future, demonstrating that the nation will continue to promote outbound investment and international cooperation,” Chen Chuanglian, Deputy Director of the Southern China Institute of Finance at Jinan University in Guangzhou, Guangdong province, said.
China, the world’s second-largest economy, has become New Zealand’s largest trading partner. Bilateral trade between China and New Zealand increased from USD4.4 billion in 2008 to USD18.1 billion in 2020, with an average annual growth rate of 14%, according to the Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM). Bai Ming, Deputy Director of International Market Research at the Chinese Academy of International Trade and Economic Cooperation, said he expects to see upgraded FTAs between RCEP participating countries, adding that these will help strengthen industrial and supply chains in the region. China has signed 19 free trade agreements with 26 countries and regions. In 2020, the nation’s trade volume with FTA partners accounted for nearly 35% of its total foreign trade, up from 12.3% in 2012, the China Daily reports.
