Hon Todd McClay
Associate Minister of Trade
Associate Minister of Foreign Affairs

18 September 2015

Media Statement

McClay to visit China

Todd McClay, Minister of Revenue and State Owned Enterprises, and Associate Minister of Trade and Foreign Affairs, departs this Sunday for a six-day visit to China, including Hong Kong.

In Hong Kong, Mr McClay will meet with the Secretary of Commerce and New Zealand exporters to discuss the opportunities for strengthening the trade and investment relationship.

From Hong Kong, Mr McClay will travel to Beijing, where he will meet with senior Chinese leadership, including Vice-Premier Wang Yang and a counterpart in China's Ministry of Commerce.

“I’m delighted to visit China for the first time since taking on the Associate Trade and Foreign Affairs portfolios. Our relationship with China is one of our most important, with a record of key achievements through the years, such as the signature of the New Zealand-China FTA in 2008.

“In my meetings, I will be emphasising the importance the New Zealand Government places on the upgrade of the FTA to continue to drive the relationship forward. This ties in well with the objectives of the New Zealand China Partnership Forum,” says Mr McClay.

The 2nd New Zealand China Partnership Forum, organised by the New Zealand China Council and the China Center for International Economic Exchanges, has a focus on food, tourism, people-to-people and investment cooperation.

The Forum will bring together senior business leaders and community representatives along with officials and ministers from both sides to discuss new opportunities for cooperation and collaboration going forward.

Mr McClay will attend both the Beijing and Shanghai legs of the New Zealand-China Partnership Forum and will also visit the Wuzhong district of Suzhou, a sister city of Rotorua, where he will meet city leaders.

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