New Zealand looks to China to chart free trade course in troubled times

WELLINGTON - The "shopping list" is all written up as New Zealand heads into talks to upgrade its free trade agreement (FTA) with China.

But trade officials and exporters have expectations that won't appear on the final documents as they want leadership from China during uncertain times.

FREE TRADE ADVOCATE

Still recovering from the United States' withdrawal from the 12-nation Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) agreement and with signs of growing US insularity, New Zealand is seeking a new light in free trade.

New Zealand will be looking for signs from visiting Chinese Premier Li Keqiang as to how China sees the new "trade architecture" of the Asia-Pacific region, said New Zealand China Council Acting Executive Director Stephen Jacobi.

Jacobi said New Zealand exporters would like to see China "pick up the pace a bit" in the 16-nation Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) talks.

Catherine Beard, executive director of the Export New Zealand lobby group, sees a major role for China in "a sort of coalition of the willing" to continue to advocate for free trade.

"Across the Asia-Pacific, there's been a lot of people pulled out of poverty due to trade. I think China understands the value of trade hugely because of the transformation of its economy, which wouldn't have been possible without access to international markets," Beard told Xinhua.

"If we can have countries like China raising the bar in agreements like RCEP, that would be hugely helpful because they have the negotiating power and if the Asia-Pacific could become a free trade area that could become very powerful," she said.

As anti-globalization is rearing its head worldwide, the Chinese leadership has recently stressed on various occasions that the country will remain committed to its opening-up policy and promoting global free trade and investment.

"We have seen in practice how the trend of economic globalization has become closely interconnected with, even inseparable from, peace, development and cooperation," Li said in a signed article carried Wednesday by an Australian newspaper, ahead of his visit to the country.

"We stand ready to work with other countries to support economic globalization and free trade, improve the global governance system and facilitate progress of mankind," said Li, who left Beijing on Wednesday for official visits to Australia and New Zealand, the first such by a Chinese premier to the two Oceanian countries in 11 years.