New Zealand's trade minister says visit to China another step in country's economy development

WELLINGTON, April 26 (Xinhua) -- New Zealand's Minister for Trade and Export Growth David Parker said on Friday his official visit to China has taken yet another step in the government's work to deliver a modern, sustainable economy for New Zealanders.

In Beijing, Parker held official meetings with ministerial counterparts in the trade and environment portfolios and attended the second Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation (BRF) which is being held from Thursday to Saturday.

"My meetings with Chinese ministers on important issues of shared interest included discussions on tourism, international rules, the environment, climate change and the successful completion of our FTA (Free Trade Agreement) Upgrade negotiations as soon as possible," Parker said in a statement.

The BRF provided a further opportunity for China and New Zealand to discuss possible avenues and opportunities for effective and transparent cooperation under a BRF work plan, he said.

The New Zealand-China trade relationship reached a new high of 30 billion New Zealand dollars (20 billion U.S. dollars) in two-way trade last year across goods and services, and the latest figures showed a big increase in exports to China in March, which reached 1.5 billion New Zealand dollars.

"New Zealand is proud to be one of China's top five sources of imported food, and China is our largest source of imports," the minister said.

Parker's trade delegation of 17 high-level business leaders represented the full range of New Zealand's goods and services trade with China, including companies active in tourism, air links, food and beverage, fashion, the creative sector and manufacturing.

This has been Parker's second official visit to China following his trip to Shanghai in November last year to attend the China International Import Expo.