BEIJING: China and New Zealand agreed to forge closer cooperation and relations as Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi held talks with New Zealand’s Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Winston Peters in Wellington on Monday.
Wang, also a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, is visiting New Zealand and Australia from March 17 to 21.
Wang told Peters that the healthy development of bilateral ties, despite changes in global and regional situations, has been a stabilizing factor in the world.
As this year marks the 10th anniversary of the China-New Zealand comprehensive strategic partnership, Wang said that the Chinese side is willing to work with the New Zealand side to create more “firsts” for bilateral ties and see a new decade with greater development.
He also called for joint efforts to implement the upgraded China-New Zealand Free Trade Agreement, launch negotiations on the negative list of trade in services at an early date, and build new growth engines such as infrastructure, green transformation, digital economy, technological innovation, and climate action.
The Chinese foreign minister said that both sides should continue to improve conditions for personnel exchanges, and deepen exchanges on education, tourism and youth and at the sub-national level. –The Daily Mail-CGTN news exchange item
