New Zealand looks to broaden trade with China as Hipkins meets Xi

Having struggled to reduce its trade reliance on China, New Zealand is now trying to diversify within it.

New Zealand Prime Minister Chris Hipkins has begun a six-day visit to his nation’s biggest export market, seeking to drum up demand for a wider array of goods and services than the traditional fare of milk, logs and lamb. He is due to meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping and Premier Li Qiang while in Beijing, and will also attend a World Economic Forum event in Tianjin.

Hipkins leads a 29-strong delegation comprising the trade and tourism ministers as well as executives from New Zealand’s largest companies, such as Fonterra Cooperative Group and Air New Zealand. Also represented are firms from sectors hoping to win China’s business such as gaming app developer PikPok and fitness workout designer Les Mills International.