Mr. Hu Beihai, Chair of CCCNZ,
Hon. Minister Nicola Willis,
Hon. Minister Todd McClay,
Ladies and Gentlemen, 
Dear Friends,

Good afternoon. Let me begin by thanking the China Chamber of Commerce in New Zealand (CCCNZ) for inviting me to join the “Vision” event once again. I am delighted to see that, with the joint efforts of the Chamber and other stakeholders, the “Vision” series has become an important platform for promoting China-New Zealand economic and trade exchanges and cooperation.

Not long ago, the Fourth Plenary Session of the 20th CPC Central Committee adopted the Recommendations for Formulating the 15th Five-Year Plan. This once again demonstrates China’s commitment to promoting in-depth reform and advancing high-quality development through high-level opening-up, bringing greater stability and certainty to the world. The core message of the Plenary Session and the recommendations is clear: regardless of changes in the international landscape, China will remain focused on managing our own affairs well and will continue to prioritize economic development, laying a solid foundation for realizing socialist modernization by 2035.

During the 14th Five-Year Plan period, China’s economy grew at an average annual rate of 5.5%, ranking among the highest of the world’s major economies. China’s GDP is expected to exceed 140 trillion RMB in 2025. China’s average annual contribution to global economic growth has remained around 30%, making it one of the most stable and reliable engines driving the world economy.

Looking ahead to the 15th Five-Year Plan period, China will give full play to the strengths of its socialist system with Chinese characteristics, its super-large domestic market, its comprehensive industrial system, and its abundant talent base. China will use the certainty of its own high-quality development to better navigate uncertainties in the external environment, and translate these advantages into tangible outcomes of its modernization. More specifically, there are three key concepts that can help to illustrate the vision for China’s development over the next five years as outlined by the Plenary Session.

First, innovation. China will continue to step up efforts in endogenous innovation and in building a modern industrial system. During the 14th Five-Year Plan period, China became home to more than 500,000 high-tech enterprises, and 26 of the world’s top 100 science and technology innovation clusters—ranking first globally. In 2024, national R&D expenditure exceeded 3.6 trillion RMB, up 48% from 2020. China’s comprehensive national innovation capability rose in global ranking from 14th in 2020 to 10th place in 2024.

In the next five years, China will further enhance original innovation and endeavour to make breakthroughs in key technologies, promoting deeper integration between scientific and technological innovation and industrial innovation. This will enable science and technology to drive more effectively the development of new quality productive forces and deliver greater results in high-quality development.

Meanwhile, China will proactively apply digital and intelligent technologies to upgrade traditional industries while nurturing and expanding emerging and future-oriented industries in fields such as information technology, artificial intelligence, quantum technology, and biotechnology. This will not only inject new vitality into China’s economy, but also add fresh momentum to humanity’s joint efforts to address common challenges and promote common development.

Second, green transformation. China has built the world’s largest and fastest-growing renewable energy system and established the world’s largest carbon emissions trading market. China is also the world leader in both electric-vehicle production and sales as well as new energy storage. The first half of this year marked the first time in human history that the share of clean electricity exceeded that of coal-fired power, thanks largely to China’s contribution.

China has committed to carbon peak around 2030 and carbon neutrality by 2060. In advancing these goals, China has consistently outperformed commitments and expectations in fulfilling its international climate pledges. At the same time, during the 14th Five-Year Plan period, China helped other countries reduce carbon emissions by a cumulative total of about 4.1 billion tonnes. 

In September this year, China announced a new round of NDCs. By 2035, China’s net greenhouse gas emissions across the economy will fall by 7%–10% from their peak levels. We shall use this as a baseline and strive to do even better. Non-fossil energy will account for more than 30% of total energy consumption; the total installed capacity of wind and solar power will exceed six times the 2020 level, striving to reach 3.6 billion kilowatts, and forest stock volume will exceed 24 billion cubic metres.

As things stand, China’s green and low-carbon industries currently total around 11 trillion RMB in scale, and this figure is expected to at least double in the next five years. China has developed world-leading technologies and industrial capacity in the field of green development, providing cost-effective products and solutions to the global market, empowering other countries to make the necessary green transition to a lower carbon development pathway.

Third, openness. During the 14th Five-Year Plan period, China was firmly committed to upholding the multilateral trading system with the WTO at its core, advancing high-standard opening-up, and proactively sharing the opportunities of its domestic market, serving as an “anchor of stability” amid rising unilateralism and protectionism.

In 2024, China was a major trading partner for over 150 countries and regions. Over the course of the 14th Five-Year Plan, China’s import of goods and services will exceed 15 trillion US dollars. China’s foreign investment generated over 300 billion US dollars in tax revenue for host countries, creating jobs and supporting local industrialization and modernization.

As a responsible major developing country, China has announced that it will no longer seek new special and differential treatment in current or future WTO negotiations.

In the next five years, China will continue to expand domestic demand and use new demand to shape new supply, thereby creating greater market opportunities for countries around the world. China will also continue to expand opening-up multilaterally, align with high-standard international economic and trade rules, and accelerate the advancement of regional and bilateral trade and investment agreements, while actively seeking accession to the CPTPP and DEPA. 

China will also promote innovative trade growth, broaden the space for two-way investment cooperation, and advance high-quality Belt and Road cooperation. Through this process, China will share development opportunities with the rest of the world while promoting its own open development.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Under the strategic guidance of the leaders of China and New Zealand, our Comprehensive Strategic Partnership has maintained strong momentum. In June this year, Prime Minister Luxon visited China, and he reached broad consensus with Chinese leaders on taking bilateral relations to a higher level in the new decade.

Two weeks ago, Zhao Leji, Chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress (NPC) of China, paid a successful visit to New Zealand. He met with Prime Minister Luxon, held talks with Speaker Brownlee, and attended the unveiling ceremony of the Rewi Alley Memorial Museum in Christchurch. This was the first visit to New Zealand by the Chairman of the NPC Standing Committee in twenty years, marking another important milestone in high-level exchanges—particularly between the legislatures of our two countries—and giving fresh impetus to deepening and strengthening our bilateral relations.

As President Xi Jinping, Premier Li Qiang and Chairman Zhao Leji have repeatedly emphasized, China regards New Zealand as a friend and partner. We are ready to deepen and broaden our exchanges and cooperation with New Zealand on the basis of mutual respect, mutual benefit, focusing on cooperation and benefiting the people. We are pleased to see that, over the past five decades since the establishment of diplomatic ties, thanks to the joint efforts of both sides, China-New Zealand relations have withstood profound changes in the international landscape and remained at the forefront of China’s relations with Western developed countries, bringing tangible benefits to our two peoples.

China and New Zealand have different national conditions, so it is only natural that we have differences. What matters is that both sides approach these differences rationally, in the spirit of mutual respect and seeking common ground while reserving differences. So that these differences will not get in the way of our mutually beneficial cooperation.

Going forward, China stands ready to work together with New Zealand to implement the latest consensus reached between our leaders, deepen political mutual trust, foster new growth areas in practical cooperation, and enhance people-to-people exchanges. A closer China-New Zealand relationship will bring greater certainty and new opportunities to the development of both countries, and will also contribute to world peace and prosperity.

China-New Zealand trade has maintained a strong growth momentum. In the first three quarters of this year, bilateral trade reached 30.5 billion NZD, an increase of 9.8% year-on-year. New Zealand’s exports to China amounted to 17 billion NZD, up 12.4% year-on-year, accounting for 20.2% of New Zealand’s total exports. Exports of dairy products, timber and meat to China all registered positive growth. The total bilateral trade volume is expected to exceed 40 billion NZD again for the full year of 2025. The New Zealand government has just signed the contract with a Chinese shipyard to build two Cook Strait ferries, further expanding the areas of bilateral cooperation. Early last month, New Zealand introduced visa-free entry for Chinese tourists holding Australian visas. China has extended its 30-day visa-free policy for New Zealand citizens until the end of 2026. And yesterday, the Southern Link air corridor between Shanghai and Buenos Aires through Auckland was inaugurated. These achievements have not come easily and should be cherished by both sides.

At the same time, it should be recognized that, as measured against the vision of leaders of our two countries, as well as the expectation of our peoples, our bilateral cooperation still has enormous potential and ample room for further growth. 

For that potential to be unlocked, however, efforts will be needed on both sides, including on the creation of an open, inclusive and non-discriminatory environment for mutually-beneficial cooperation to thrive.

Ultimately, China’s high-quality development and high-standard opening-up under the process of Chinese modernization will continue to inject strong and sustained momentum into mutually beneficial cooperation between China and New Zealand, as well as other countries around the world. To turn this vision of cooperation into reality and bring further and greater benefits to the peoples of our two countries, I would like to offer four suggestions for China-New Zealand cooperation:

First, strengthen cooperation in the field of green energy. China and New Zealand share common goals in addressing climate change and developing renewable energy. Leveraging our comparative and mutually complementary strengths, strengthening our cooperation in the green energy sector can provide New Zealand with tangible benefits in improving its energy mix, reducing energy costs, and advancing its climate targets.

Second, strengthen cooperation in the field of scientific and technological innovation. China has entered into scientific and technological cooperation with more than 160 countries and regions and is deeply involved in over 60 major international scientific programs and large-scale scientific projects. By the end of 2024, the total number of Chinese artificial intelligence companies exceeded 4,500, and the “AI plus” model has been widely applied in key sectors such as manufacturing, finance, healthcare, and education, creating a new engine for economic growth. 

In July, the New Zealand government also released its first national AI strategy and announced increased investment in research on artificial intelligence, quantum technologies, and synthetic biology. Institutions and businesses from both countries can learn from each other, jointly explore and develop more scientific and technological innovations, and promote shared development.

Third, enhance cooperation in the field of infrastructure. Through the Belt and Road Initiative and other international cooperation mechanisms, China has participated in the construction of infrastructure projects worldwide, including roads, railways, ports, bridges, and communication networks. These efforts have enhanced connectivity between and within countries and regions, promoted trade and people-to-people exchanges, deepened economic ties, and supported economic growth and job creation in participating countries.

This year, the New Zealand government has also announced a series of policies and projects to increase infrastructure investment. According to the New Zealand Infrastructure Commission, an annual investment of 1 billion NZD in infrastructure can generate approximately 4,500 jobs on average. The two countries can further deepen cooperation in infrastructure-related technology development and application, financing and project-contracting, to support stronger growth and long-term development.

Fourth, jointly uphold the multilateral trading system. Both China and New Zealand are staunch supporters of the multilateral trading system. In the current international economic and trade landscape, the two nations should further strengthen communication and cooperation, jointly oppose trade protectionism, uphold a stable, predictable and rules-based multilateral trading system, and foster an open, inclusive, and non-discriminatory environment for international economic cooperation.

China’s accession to the CPTPP is expected to boost members’ GDP by 0.2%–1.1% and exports by 2.5%–11.8%, while also supporting the development of more integrated, more stable and more resilient supply chains, and promoting greater certainty and predictability in the rules-based regional and even global environment for trade and investment. That serves the interest of all partners in the region and beyond. China hopes that New Zealand will lend stronger support for China’s accession to the CPTPP and DEPA through concrete actions.

In 2026, China will host the APEC Economic Leaders’ Meeting for the third time. We hope to take this opportunity to work together with all members, including New Zealand, to build an Asia-Pacific community of growth and prosperity, advance practical cooperation such as the Asia-Pacific Free Trade Area and connectivity, and inject greater vitality and momentum into Asia-Pacific development.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

As the Māori proverb says: “Nā tō rourou, nā taku rourou ka ora ai te iwi,” which means “With your food basket and my food basket the people will thrive.” As China-New Zealand comprehensive strategic partnership enters its second decade, China is ready to work closely with New Zealand to implement the consensus reached by our leaders, advance the bilateral relationship to greater heights, and bring more benefits to the peoples of both countries.

With these words, I conclude my remarks. I wish today’s event a success and wish you all a joyful holiday season. Thank you!