New Zealand-China business awards highlight bilateral economic relations: organizer

AUCKLAND, New Zealand, April 8 (Xinhua) -- A New Zealand-China business award has highlighted the strengthened bilateral economic relations, said the organizer, New Zealand China Trade Association (NZCTA).

The biennial awards cover six categories from which a Supreme Winner is chosen, as well as special recognition awards for outstanding business practice and innovation in the Chinese market. Les Mills China was named the Supreme Winner.

NZCTA Chair Martin Thomson noted that the 2021 awards were announced on the day that the upgrade to the China-New Zealand free trade agreement (FTA) came into effect, demonstrating both countries' commitment to strengthening their economic ties.

"Trade between China and New Zealand has continued to grow despite COVID-19, and last year reached just over 37 billion New Zealand dollars, a remarkable outcome given the absence of Chinese tourists and international students," he said.

Chinese Ambassador to New Zealand Wang Xiaolong, in a video speech, praised NZCTA's contribution to bilateral relations by organizing the biennial awards at the moment when the NZ-China FTA upgrade coming into effect.

"I would encourage friends in business community to grasp the new opportunities and to explore new areas and ways for cooperation, such as environmental protection, clean energy, digital economy, food safety, to support the high-quality, sustainable development of our respective economies and bring better lives to our peoples," Wang said.

New Zealand Trade Minister Damien O'Connor also congratulated the award winners. He said that the New Zealand government is committed to supporting New Zealand businesses in China. He thanked New Zealand businesses in China, who, despite the huge challenges posed by COVID-19, has made a huge and critical contribution to the New Zealand economy.

"China remains one of New Zealand's most significant relationships and our largest trading partner, with total two-way trade amount reaching 37.7 billion NZ dollars for 2021. That is 23 percent of New Zealand's total goods and services traded in that period. Due to business innovation and tenacity, goods trade has shown strong resilience in the face of COVID-19; total trade grew 20 percent. These are real achievements that should be applauded," said O'Connor. (1 New Zealand dollar equals 0.6909 U.S. dollar)