Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has met with the most powerful man in China, President Xi Jinping, who told her the bilateral relationship faces "new opportunities of development" and "our two sides must trust each other".
The historic meeting in Beijing, the most important meeting of Ms Ardern's whistlestop visit, comes as Ms Ardern moves to shore up New Zealand's highly-important relationship with China. Trade and security were expected to be high on the agenda.
In his opening remarks, President Xi expressed his "deep sympathy on the Christchurch shootings".
He went on to say that China sees in New Zealand a sincere friend and cooperation partner.
"During the past 47 years of diplomatic ties, China-New Zealand relations have made historic strides and have become one of the closest between China and Western developed countries.
"Now the bilateral relationship faces new opportunities of development. Our two sides must trust each other, pursue mutual benefit and strive to open up new grounds in our bilateral relations," President Xi said.
Pointing out that New Zealand is the first Western developed country to sign a free trade agreement with China, he said, "so we must go forward with this same spirit and build the comprehensive strategic partnership and take the already very good relations to a new height. This will deliver greater benefits to the people of our two countries."
In reply, Ms Ardern thanked President Xi for his words of condolence and support following the terrorist attack in Christchurch and shared New Zealand's condolences for the loss of life in the industrial accident in the Jiangsu province. Seventy-eight people were killed in a blast at a chemical plant in March.
Ms Ardern said New Zealand's bilateral relationship with China "is one of our most important and far reaching".
"I look forward to discussions around the opportunity for us to further our partnership and indeed our incredibly important relationship," she said.
"I welcome this opportunity to meet together and continue those discussions. Thank you once again for the warmth of your welcome," the prime minister said.
Her visit comes at a time when relations between the two countries have been strained since New Zealand in November stopped mobile phone company Spark from using Huawei gear in its planned 5G upgrade because of security concerns.
The Prime Minister is in Beijing meeting the country’s Premier and President. (Source: Other)
Earlier today, Chinese Premier Li Keqiang urged New Zealand to provide a "fair, transparent, convenient" investment environment in a meeting with Ms Ardern .
"China ... is willing to, on the basis of mutual respect and equal treatment, elevate mutual political trust with New Zealand, expand practical cooperation and increase personal exchanges," Ms Li told Ms Ardern at the Great Hall of the People, the seat of the legislature in central Beijing, following a formal welcoming ceremony.
"And we hope that ... when each side's businesses invest in each other's businesses, they can enjoy a fair, transparent, convenient environment," Mr Li said.
Ms Ardern did not address investment issues in her opening remarks, but thanked Ms Li for expressing China's condolences over the deadly shootings at mosques in Christchurch. Her visit was cut back to one day following the March 15 shootings that killed 50 people.
However, Ms Ardern said she still wanted to "visit Beijing at this time to underline the importance that we place on our relationship with China. It is one of our most important and far reaching relationships, a point I've made in my public speeches over the past year".
Following the meeting, Mr Li and Ms Ardern oversaw the signing of agreements on avoiding double taxation, agriculture, financial dialogue and science and research.
SHARE ME