A lot of agreements will be signed with China during Chinese
Premier Wen Jiabao's visit here New Zealand, Prime Minister Helen
Clark said on Monday.
"So it's a very substantial visit, and that reflects the fact
that the (New Zealand's) relationship with China is a very
broad-ranging relationship," Clark said in an interview with
Xinhua.
The Chinese premier will visit New Zealand on April 5-7. "The
visit is a recognition of the growing momentum in New Zealand's
broad and important relationship with China," Clark said.
"This is a constructive, increasingly comprehensive relationship
and I look forward to discussions on how it can be further
enhanced," said Clark.
"I also look forward to discussing progress on the New
Zealand-China Free Trade Agreement (FTA), and the mutual benefits a
high-quality, comprehensive FTA will bring," she added.
FTA talks between the two countries were officially launched in
November 2004, and the two sides have made further progress toward
establishing a free trade area after six rounds of
negotiations.
During the negotiations, the two sides reached consensus over
the trade of products and services, investment, intellectual
property rights, resolution of disputes, rules of origins, customs
cooperation, technical barriers and other issues.
Trade between China and New Zealand has been growing rapidly in
recent years. Bilateral trade reached US$2.68 billion in 2005, 2.5
times more than that in 2000.
Clark told Xinhua that the New Zealanders are seeking a
comprehensive, high-quality trade deal, which should cover the
whole sectors.
"What I can say is a lot of the earlier rounds of talks were
really about all general principles, and we are now getting down to
the substance, of what sectors are sensitive and how should they be
deal with," said Clark.
In addition to government-to-government dialogue during Wen's
visit, there are many activities in the fields of business, science
and technology, and cultural exchanges, she said.
Clark, who has visited China three times as prime minister, said
she has been witnessing the rapid development of China and
wide-ranging exchanges between the two nations.
"I have studied the New Zealand-China relationship for more than
20 years. ... We didn't have any students coming here 20 years ago,
we had very few migrations coming from China, and in addition, 20
years ago, the trade was very tiny."
Nowadays, there have been quite a lot of visits and exchanges
between the two nations in many fields, and New Zealand has
attracted many tourists, immigrants and students from China, Clark
said.
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The New Zealand prime minister said Wellington is strengthening the
contacts with China in the field of education.
"The education relations grow very fast around short-term
language courses, and I think we are looking for more degree
courses exchange, including selecting young New Zealanders to
China."
Talking about the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games, Clark said New
Zealanders are looking forward to the games.
"I think China will make huge efforts to see Olympic Games is
very successful. And we want to bring our good teams to attend the
huge competition there in Beijing," said Clark.
(Xinhua News Agency April 5, 2006 )
