Our relationship with China
Aotearoa New Zealand and China have a long relationship going back to the 1840s. The first Chinese immigrant to New Zealand is thought to have been Appo Hocton, who arrived in Nelson in 1842. The first large-scale arrival of Chinese to New Zealand occurred in the 1860s, initially for gold-mining. Official contact began in 1912 with trade, missionary, immigration and other links. Aotearoa New Zealand and China established formal diplomatic relations in December 1972.
Our relationship with China is one of our most complex and significant, impacting a wide range of sectors and groups across Aotearoa NewZealand. Over the decades, Aotearoa NewZealand and China have developed extensive bilateral and trade connections.
Recent speeches by The Minister of Foreign Affairs to the NewZealand China Council(external link) and the PrimeMinister to the China Business Summit(external link) define our broad policy approach to our relationship with China. In 2022, Aotearoa NewZealand commemorated its 50th year of diplomatic relations with China.
More on New Zealand’s relationship with China
Read about first steps towards diplomatic ties between New Zealand and China.
Read about our new Embassy in Beijing.
Trade
China remains NewZealand’s largest trading partner(external link), with two-way trade totalling 40.31 billion (in the year ending December 2022). Bilateral goods trade showed strong resilience in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic with both export and imports continuing to grow, despite supply chain disruption and increased costs. Trade in services was significantly impacted during the pandemic although demand for services is now rebounding with many NewZealand businesses able to reconnect with Chinese partners, customers, and consumers.
As in the wider relationship, formal diplomatic engagement continues to provide a valuable structure for advancing our trade and economic interests.
In June 2023, PrimeMinister Hipkins led a business delegation to China, visiting Beijing, Tianjin, and Shanghai.
In June 2023 the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade held the 2023 Foreign Affairs Consultations, and the 32nd Joint Trade and Economic Commission (JTEC), meeting with China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Ministry of Commerce respectively. Beyond these important officials’ level bilateral political, trade and economic engagements, New Zealand Government agencies also hold formal dialogues or equivalents with Chinese counterparts in topics such as finance, forestry, food safety, dairy, customs cooperation, and more.
For more information, please see our China Market updates(external link).
2022 statistics
| Total trade | $40.32 billion | |
| Exports to China | $21.39 billion | Top exports: dairy, meat, and wood products |
| Imports from China | $18.93 billion | Top imports: machinery and vehicles |
For up-to-date statistics please visit Statistics New Zealand Trade Dashboard(external link).
Trade in goods
According to Statistics NewZealand, Aotearoa New Zealand's largest export to China remains dairy products, accounting for $6.6 billion worth of trade in the year ending 2022. Meat, timber, infant formula, and fruit are also among Aotearoa New Zealand’s major exports to China over the same period.
Trade in services
New Zealand’s overall services exports to China totalled NZ$1.24 billion in 2022.
People-to-people links form the backbone of the NewZealand-China relationship. Aotearoa NewZealand and China continue to enjoy extensive people exchanges, especially in education and tourism. In the early days, both countries offered an exchange programme for three students each. Today, Chinese students constitute Aotearoa NewZealand’s largest source of foreign students.
China continues to be an important tourism market for Aotearoa NewZealand. Pre-COVID-19, Chinese tourists accounted for our second largest source of tourists (behind Australia), with over 400,000 Chinese visitors in 2019.
Aotearoa NewZealand is committed to maintaining the tourism relationship that was strengthened during the China-New Zealand Year of Tourism in 2019. In June 2023, Tourism Minister Peeni Henare met his Chinese counterpart, Minister of Culture and Tourism, Hu Heping, to reaffirm the 2019 Tourism Cooperation Arrangement between Aotearoa New Zealand and the People’s Republic of China.
While education and tourism have traditionally been the biggest service exports, Aotearoa NewZealand also increasingly exports ‘knowledge economy’ services such as design, information technology, film and TV, and food safety.
New Zealand-China FTA
The 2008 New Zealand-China Free Trade Agreement (FTA) was Aotearoa New Zealand’s biggest trade deal since the Closer Economic Relations agreement with Australia in the 1980s. It cements the trading relationship between NewZealand and China, and frees up business for exporters, the service sector and investors. By 2016, New Zealand had duty free access on over 97% of China’s tariff lines.
Since 1 January 2022, most NewZealand dairy products to China have been entitled to duty-free access as a result of the ongoing implementation of our 2008 FTA with China. This is expected to result in additional savings of $180 million per annum at current export volumes. All remaining tariffs on NewZealand dairy products will be lifted in 2024.
On 7 April 2022, the NZ-China FTA upgrade came into force. Building on our 2008 Free Trade Agreement, the Upgrade ensures more modern rules underpinning our bilateral trade, new market access commitments in goods and services, and additional trade facilitation measures.
The new chapters on environment and e-commerce, developments around clearance processes in the FTA, and tariff elimination over a 10 year implementation period on a number of wood and paper products, are changes that will help NewZealand firms compete in a critical and competitive market.
China and New Zealand are also both parties to the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), which entered into force on 1 January 2022. RCEP is a Free Trade Agreement between the 10 members of ASEAN and five other regional economies. It is projected to add $186 billion to the world economy and increase New Zealand’s GDP by around $2.0 billion.
China investment in Aotearoa New Zealand
Chinese investment in Aotearoa New Zealand is spread across a broad range of sectors. China (including Hong Kong) is among the largest sources of foreign direct investment amounting to NZD $11.46 billion in the year ending March 2022.
Climate change and Environment
NewZealand and China have a long-standing commitment to bilateral cooperation on environment and climate change issues. New Zealand and China signed an Environmental Cooperation Agreement (ECA) [PDF, 206 KB] in 2008 which acts as the main framework for bilateral environment cooperation with China. The NZ-China FTA upgrade also included a new chapter on environment and trade.
Our bilateral cooperation on climate change is underpinned by the Climate Change Cooperation Arrangement [PDF, 206 KB] signed in 2014, and the New Zealand-China Climate Change Action Plan 2017 [PDF, 206 KB] which gives practical effect to the 2014 agreement. The 2019 NewZealand-China Leaders’ statement on Climate Change re-affirmed our commitment to strengthening our bilateral engagement on climate change. Our Ministers meet annually to discuss a range of issues through a Ministerial Climate Change Dialogue, most recently the Fourth New Zealand-China Ministerial Climate Change Dialogue was hosted virtually by China in October 2022.
Science and Technology
New Zealand and China have significant mutual research interests, particularly in food, environmental and health sciences.
In June 2023, both countries renewed a 5-Year Roadmap for Science and Technology Cooperation (2023-2027). The Roadmap will guide and enhance future bilateral research, science, and innovation cooperation in the focus areas of Food, Environmental, and Health and Biomedical sciences.
More information is available on MBIE’s website: International science partnerships | Ministry of Business, Innovation & Employment (mbie.govt.nz)(external link)
Primary Industries
NewZealand holds a strong and longstanding relationship with China across the primary sector. We cooperate in a range of areas including agriculture, horticulture, fisheries and forestry, with the aim of growing and better understanding each other’s systems. We share interest in sustainability, pest and disease management, food safety, and consumer expectations. The Ministry for Primary Industriesworks closely with Chinese counterparts on a number of bilateral agricultural cooperation arrangements and activities. New Zealand engages in regulatory cooperation to facilitate trade and practical projects that meet our common interests, along with supporting relationship building by our primary sectors and leveraging government-to-government relationships to open the door for New Zealand businesses.
Human rights
New Zealand has a strong history of protecting and promoting human rights both at home and internationally. We regularly discuss human rights issues with the Chinese Government and raise concerns both privately and publicly. The Minister of Foreign Affairs has issued a number of statements relating to human rights in China, including in July 2022(external link) and September 2022(external link).
Entering China
Thelatest information on specific entry requirements, including pre-departure requirements and visa application processes, can be found on the Chinese Embassy website(external link).
Embassies
New Zealand is represented in China by the New Zealand Embassy, Beijing. New Zealand also operates three Consulates-General:
- New Zealand Consulate-General, Shanghai
- New Zealand Consulate-General, Guangzhou
- New Zealand Consulate-General, Hong Kong
China is represented in New Zealand by the Embassy of the People's Republic of China, Wellington(external link)
