New Zealand's politicians, business people and consumers are welcoming the signing of a protocol to upgrade a free trade agreement (FTA) between their country and China earlier this month, Xinhua reports.
On Saturday, New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern told thousands of participants at the 2021 Chinese New Year Festival and Market Day event in Auckland that the signing of the FTA upgrade was a milestone for both countries.
"Alongside the renewed commitment to our people-to-people links, stands our ongoing commitment to our economic and trade ties, which are equally long and deep and important to us," said Ardern.
"The FTA upgrade is a really important milestone for both countries, and shows the strength of our relationship," she added.
According to the protocol signed on Tuesday, on the basis of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership, China will further expand its opening-up in sectors including aviation, education, finance, elderly care, and passenger transport to New Zealand to boost the trade of services.
For the trade of goods, the upgraded FTA will see both countries open their markets for certain wood and paper products and optimize trade rules such as rules of origin, technical barriers to trade and customs facilitation, China's Ministry of Commerce said in an online statement.
New Zealand will lower its threshold for reviewing Chinese investment, allowing it to receive the same review treatment as members of the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership.
In 2008, China signed an FTA with New Zealand, the first deal of this kind between China and a developed country. China is currently New Zealand's largest trading partner, the largest source country of foreign students, and second-largest source of foreign tourists.
