Chinese premier holds talks with New Zealand counterpart

BEIJING - Chinese Premier Li Qiang held talks on Wednesday with Prime Minister of New Zealand Chris Hipkins in Beijing.

Li said that since the establishment of diplomatic relations more than 50 years ago, China-New Zealand relations have been built up as a model of win-win cooperation between countries with different social systems, histories and cultures, development stages, and economic sizes.

Next year marks the 10th anniversary of the establishment of the comprehensive strategic partnership between China and New Zealand.

Li said China stands ready to work with New Zealand to further deepen the traditional friendship and jointly push cooperation in various fields to a higher level to better benefit the two peoples, the Asia-Pacific region and the world.

Noting the significance of solidarity, cooperation, mutual benefit and win-win results in resolving the challenges faced by mankind, Li said that, as China advances its modernization drive, it will only open its door wider and wider.

China is ready to share with New Zealand the new opportunities brought by China's development and tap the potential of cooperation for greater mutual benefit, said Li, calling on the two sides to give full play to the protocol on upgrading the free trade agreement (FTA) to push trade and investment to a new level.

He called on the two sides to tap the potential of the digital economy, the green economy and creative industries to create new driving forces for cooperation in emerging areas. Efforts should be made to jointly advocate free trade, support Asia-Pacific regional cooperation, and expand the new space of regional economic cooperation, Li said, adding that the two sides should also promote cooperation in education, tourism and other fields, and strengthen the new bond of people-to-people exchanges.

For his part, Hipkins said that New Zealand and China are committed to strengthening communication, enhancing understanding and properly handling differences, and have carried out extensive and in-depth cooperation covering all levels and all fields.

New Zealand firmly adheres to the one-China policy and is excited about the opportunities brought about by China's opening up, said Hipkins, adding that New Zealand is willing to work with China to implement the consensus, deepen cooperation on economy and trade, science and technology, education, renewable energy and local-level relations to jointly promote economic recovery and tackle climate change and other global challenges.

Hipkins also welcomed more Chinese entrepreneurs, tourists and students to New Zealand.

After the talks, Li and Hipkins witnessed the signing of a series of bilateral cooperation documents on science and technology, education, agriculture, forestry, quarantine, food safety and intellectual property rights.