New Zealand Prime Minister Jenny Shipley warmly welcomed the China-United States agreement on China's entry into the World Trade Organization (WTO) on November 16, describing it as a "globally significant agreement."

In a government press release, Shipley said that the China-US agreement on WTO entry "is great news for New Zealand," which has already developed deep trade links with China.

"New Zealand has for many years supported China's entry into the WTO. We were the first Western nation to reach an accession agreement with China in 1997. As Chair of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) we worked to see strengthened support for China's entry from this year's APEC Leaders' Meeting," the New Zealand prime minister said.

"We were pleased to host the September Summit meeting between Presidents Clinton and Jiang where they resumed top level contacts on WTO accession.

"The China-US Agreement is globally significant," Shipley said.

She said the world needs China's full participation in the international economy and her country is looking forward to further rapid progress on China's entry into the WTO.