New Zealand-China FTA negotiations: joint statement

The President of the People’s Republic of China Hu Jintao and Prime Minister of New Zealand Helen Clark today announced that China and New Zealand will commence negotiations on a Free Trade Agreement as soon as possible.

The announcement came after the two leaders released a joint study on the feasibility of a New Zealand – China FTA. The study concluded that, given the complementarities between China and New Zealand, an FTA was feasible and that it would benefit the people and economies of both countries. The likely net benefits of an FTA has been confirmed by the economic modelling work undertaken during the course of the study.

The study follows the signing of a Trade and Economic Cooperation Framework between China and New Zealand in May this year. In the Framework New Zealand became the first developed country in the world to recognise China as a market economy.

While the study demonstrated that an FTA would benefit both countries, it also identifies concerns about possible adjustment implications for some producers, and recommends that these impacts be taken into account in negotiations.

In releasing the study and announcing the negotiations on an FTA to start as soon as possible, President Hu and Prime Minister Clark stressed the importance of the FTA advancing APEC goals, being consistent with WTO rules, and reinforcing the two Governments’ commitment to sustainable development.

© Scoop Media

Gordon Campbell: On the Sony cyber attack

Given the layers of meta-irony involved, the saga of the Sony cyber attack seemed at the outset more like a snarky European art film than a popcorn entry at the multiplex.

Yet now with (a) President Barack Obama weighing in on the side of artistic freedom and calling for the US to make a ‘proportionate response’quickly followed by (b) North Korea’s entire Internet service going down, and with both these events being followed by (c) Sony deciding to backtrack and release The Interview film that had made it a target for the dastardly North Koreans in the first place, then ay caramba…the whole world will now be watching how this affair pans out. More>>