New Zealand Prime Minister Christopher Luxon kicked off his official visit to China on Tuesday, eyeing to foster cooperation and trade ties. According to Chinese Foreign Ministry, at the invitation of Premier of the State Council Li Qiang, Luxon's official visit to China is scheduled from June 17 to 20.

In an X post on Tuesday, Luxon described China as "New Zealand's largest trading partner and a country that's a vital part in our economic story."

"More than 20% of our exports go to China and there is room for growth, so I'm taking a delegation of senior business leaders with me to tap into it. It's all part of our plan to grow our economy - creating more jobs, lifting wages, and putting more money in your back pocket," Luxon wrote.

New Zealand media RNZ reported on Tuesday that the trip to Shanghai and Beijing comes at what Luxon describes as a "complex" but "mature" stage in the bilateral relationship, as well as a fraught time in international affairs with Israel and Iran in open warfare.

During Prime Minister Luxon's visit to China, the primary focus will be on strengthening bilateral economic and trade cooperation, Yu Lei, a professor from the Department of International Politics and Economics at Shandong University, told the Global Times on Tuesday.

New Zealand hopes to increase exports to the Chinese market and also welcomes more Chinese tourists and students to visit and study in New Zealand.

In an X post on June 13, Luxon emphasized his visit "will focus on growing trade, which was worth over $38 billion last year, as well as strengthening education and tourism links, and maximising opportunities for New Zealand businesses."

The two countries enjoy close economic and trade cooperation with strong complementarity, Yu said.

Yu believes there is still room to enhance the quality of the China-New Zealand Free Trade Agreement, and both countries need institutional frameworks to better serve their economic and trade collaboration.

Ahead of Luxon's official visit to China, according to Immigration New Zealand, starting in November 2025, New Zealand will trial visa waiver status for Chinese passport holders travelling from Australia with a valid Australian visitor, work, student or family visa. They will be allowed to visit New Zealand for up to three months using a New Zealand Electronic Travel Authority instead of applying for a traditional visa.

Earlier this month, a line-up of ex-politicians - including Helen Clark, Sir Geoffrey Palmer, Sir David Carter and Don Brash - published an open letter urging Luxon to adopt a less "adversarial stance" towards China, according to RNZ.

"It's a very calm, considered, thoughtful, consistent, predictable relationship," Luxon told RNZ. "Where we have differences, we raise them publicly and privately, consistently and predictably."

Since the New Zealand National Party government came into power, it has faced persistent external pressure from the US and other Western nations on various diplomatic issues, including engagement with China, while also contending with internal provocations from right-wing elements. Against this backdrop, the open letter penned by public figures like Helen Clark reflects the will of New Zealand society — to view China and its development rationally, Chen Hong, a professor and director of the Australian Studies Centre at East China Normal University, told the Global Times.

In New Zealand, the mainstream opinion in the country remains in favor of steady growth in China-New Zealand relations, Chen said.

The "America First" policy pushed by the current US administration has repeatedly disregarded the interests of allies and partners, which have come to realize that betting entirely on America's hegemonic strategy would only lead to their own losses, Chen added.

China has always adhered to the principles of mutual respect, equality, and mutual benefit in developing practical cooperation with countries around the world, including New Zealand. There have been no major conflicts between China and New Zealand to date, nor is there any reason for such conflicts to arise. On the contrary, both nations share the important responsibility of strengthening cooperation to jointly promote economic development, regional peace and stability in the Asia-Pacific region, Yu said.