1. Trade and Economy

1.1 Since the signing of the China–New Zealand Free Trade Agreement (FTA) in 2008, New Zealand’s exports to China have surged from $2.5 billion to $20.85 billion in 2024—an average annual growth rate of 14.1 percent. That pace far outstripped the country’s export growth to the rest of the world over the same period, which averaged 7.7 percent annually.

1.2 Since the China–NZ FTA took effect, bilateral goods trade has expanded by nearly $30 billion. The first $10 billion increase took eight years (2008-2016) to achieve; the second came in just three (2016-2019). From 2017 through 2024, New Zealand recorded a trade surplus in goods with China for eight consecutive years.

1.3 On April 7, 2022, the upgraded protocol of the China–NZ FTA officially took effect. The revised deal granted New Zealand expanded market access in 22 new service sectors, including environmental services and air transport. It also enhanced access in 17 sectors already covered under the original agreement, such as real estate, translation, and education.

1.4 As of January 1, 2024, all New Zealand dairy products can enter the Chinese market tariff-free and without quotas, marking the full implementation of the China–NZ FTA. More than 98 percent of New Zealand’s exports to China now enjoy zero-tariff access.

1.5 In 2024, trade between China and New Zealand reached 38.26 billion New Zealand dollars, with exports to China accounting for 20.6 percent of New Zealand’s total exports and 25 percent of its total goods exports, supporting more than 100,000 jobs. China remained a key market for several major sectors—absorbing 31 percent of New Zealand’s dairy exports, 61 percent of its timber, and 24 percent of its meat. Since 2013, China has been New Zealand’s largest export destination for goods for 11 consecutive years.

1.6 In the first quarter of 2025, total trade between China and New Zealand reached $10.51 billion, marking a year-on-year increase of 8.9%. New Zealand’s exports to China amounted to $6.29 billion, up 12.5% year-on-year, while imports from China stood at $4.22 billion, an increase of 3.9%.

Many Goods in New Zealand’s exports to China saw growth. Dairy totaled $2.38 billion, showing a significant year-on-year growth of 40.8%. Meat reached $700 million, up 1.4%, while milk preparations, pasta, and baking products amounted to $380 million, an increase of 11.8%.

1.7 In April 2025, goods trade between China and New Zealand totaled $3.41 billion, representing a year-on-year increase of 18.2%. New Zealand’s exports to China reached $2.07 billion, up 29.9% year-on-year, while imports from China stood at $1.34 billion, an increase of 3.9%.

1.8 New Zealand has participated in the China International Import Expo for seven consecutive years. In 2024, it sent its largest-ever delegation to the seventh edition of the event, signing 24 cooperation agreements with Chinese companies. The deals are expected to generate 340 million New Zealand dollars in trade over the next three years.

2. Tourism and People to People Exchanges

2.1 China is New Zealand’s third-largest source of international visitors. In the year ending March 2025, a total of 248,300 mainland Chinese tourists visited New Zealand. In 2024 alone, visitors from mainland China spent 1.414 billion New Zealand dollars, with an average of 6,450 dollars spent per trip, one of the highest among all sources of international visitors for New Zealand. In June 2024, Premier Li Qiang announced a unilateral visa waiver policy for New Zealand citizens. In the first three quarters of the year, 86,200 New Zealanders entered China under the new arrangement.

2.2 To date, China and New Zealand have established 42 sister-city relationships. The China–New Zealand Mayoral Forum has become a key platform for fostering bilateral ties at the local level. In November 2014, President Xi Jinping and then–Prime Minister John Key jointly attended the forum’s launch ceremony in Auckland. The inaugural forum was held in Xiamen in September 2015, followed by the second in Wellington in December 2017. Marking the forum’s 10th anniversary, the third China–New Zealand Mayoral Forum and Sister City Exchange Festival took place in Chengdu in May 2025, drawing around 150 mayors and delegates from 22 cities across both countries.

3 Education

3.1 China has remained New Zealand’s largest source of international students for several years. Between January and August 2024, New Zealand hosted 73,535 international students, 25,175 of whom were from China—accounting for 34 percent of the total. 

3.2 Universities in China and New Zealand have leveraged their respective strengths to pursue high-level academic cooperation in key fields such as food science, environmental protection, and agricultural economics. In 2013, Peking University partnered with eight of New Zealand’s top universities to establish the Peking University New Zealand Center, a flagship example of practical collaboration in higher education.

Another landmark initiative—‘The China-NZ Tripartite Partnership Programme’—was launched in 2005. Under its ‘1+2’ model, one New Zealand university pairs with two Chinese institutions to foster joint academic efforts. In 2025, the program marks its 20th anniversary, having supported nearly 60 collaborative research and academic exchange projects between the two countries over the years.

3.3 The Gansu Shandan Bailie School, founded by New Zealander Rewi Alley, has trained generations of skilled workers and technical professionals for China. Today, vocational and technical institutions in both countries continue to honor Alley’s legacy by promoting the ‘Spirit of Rewi Alley’ through ongoing exchanges and cooperation in vocational education between China and New Zealand.

4. Agriculture

China is New Zealand’s largest market for exports in food and fibre sector. In the year ending March 2024, New Zealand earned 16.815 billion New Zealand dollars from food and fibre sector’s exports to China, accounting for 33 percent of its total export revenue in food and fibre sector. Export earnings from China alone matched the combined total from New Zealand’s next four largest markets—the United States, Australia, the European Union, and Japan.

5. Science and Technology

5.1 China’s deep-sea manned submersible Fendouzhe (Striver) visited New Zealand from October to December 2022, carrying scientists from both countries on a successful joint research mission down to the Kermadec Trench, nearly 10 kilometers beneath the ocean surface.

5.2 The China—NZ Collaborative Dive Expedition to the Puysegur Trench lasted 76 days, from January 1 to March 21, 2025, marking the first scientific exploration of the trench and the second joint deep-sea mission between the two countries. The expedition brought together scientists from 10 institutions across eight countries—China, NZ, Malaysia, Denmark, Germany, France, Brazil, and India.

Despite the punishing conditions of the ‘Roaring Forties’, the team completed 32 successful dives. The mission set a new Chinese record with 75 cumulative hours of dive time across five dives, uncovering numerous previously undocumented phenomena and contributing to the growing global network of hadal trench research.

5.3 The China–NZ Belt and Road Joint Laboratory on Biomedicine and Health has successfully facilitated the transfer of China-developed CAR-T immunotherapy to the Malaghan Institute of Medical Research for clinical trials in New Zealand. The collaboration marks a significant step in cancer research, offering new hope to patients in both countries and potentially around the world.

5.4 Collaborative research between Chinese and New Zealand scientists—in areas ranging from food quality testing of milk powder, wine, and seafood to coastal wetland conservation and earthquake-resistant construction—has delivered practical benefits for people in both countries and beyond. The China–NZ Belt and Road Joint Laboratory on Kiwifruit is helping bring New Zealand’s renowned kiwifruit to global markets.