Trade With China Important For New Zealand’s Economy

28 February 2012 - Which Way to Pay

Trade With China Important For New Zealand’s Economy

The significance of New Zealand's trade with China has been stressed today by the Wellington Employers Chamber of Commerce.

This comes after Statistics New Zealand released merchandise trading figures demonstrating the importance of China to New Zealand’s economy.

The figures not only showed continued high levels of export growth but also showed that in 2011 China surpassed Australia as New Zealand’s largest source of imports. The New Zealand China Free Trade Agreement has been one of the main contributors to this growth.

“The Wellington Employers Chamber of Commerce is emphasising the importance of trade with China and will be working with local businesses to facilitate increased exports and international business. Only two years ago China overtook the US as New Zealand’s second largest export market, while Australia remains our number one export market and is still some way ahead,” said Chamber president Richard Stone.

Mr Stone says that exports to China are growing considerably faster than imports from China. Exports to China are growing 23.1% in the year to January 2012, now exceeding $6 billion. Mr Stone concluded that there are many new initiatives in the pipeline that focus on trading with China that should be announced in the near future.