Hon. Luo Qiang, Mayor of Chengdu,

Hon. David Carter, Speakerof Parliament,

Hon. David Bennet, Minister of Food Safety,

Hon. Tim Macindoe, Minister of Customs,

His worship Mr. Andrews King, Mayor of Hamilton,

Consul general Alistare crozie,

Ladies and Gentlemen,

I am very delighted to be here In Hamilton, to attend the 'New Zealand National Agricultural Exhibition-Chengdu Agricultural Products Promotion' event. It is my great pleasure to see so many friends both from New Zealand and China. On behalf of the Chinese Consulate General in Auckland, I would like to take this opportunity to express our warm welcome to Chendu delegation led by Mayor Luoqiang to visit New Zealand and also to the dynamic and beautiful city in my consulate district Hamilton. Our appreciation also goes to all the friends present here today and other friends in New Zealand for your kind promotion of Chendu agricultural products and for your support to China and New Zealand relations .

Ladies and Gentlemen,

China and New Zealand's economy is highly complimentary with each other. The economic and trade cooperation is an important engine of fast growing bilateral relations. As New Zealand's largest trading partner, China has become New Zealand's largest export market for four consecutive years, and largest source of import for six consecutive years. In the context of the global economic downturn, the trade between China and New Zealand increased by 3.4% in 2016, of which China's import from New Zealand was up to more than 8%. China and New Zealand trade accounts for 20% of New Zealand's total trade, among which agriculture products for nearly 40%. Thanks to the high demand of China, New Zealand's agricultural exports keep growing, enjoying 9.8 percent in April, breaking a record high since March 2014. Dairy exports in April jumped 35%, driven by higher prices.

With the joint efforts of both countries, positive progress has been made in area of agricultural policy as well.During former Premier John Key's visit to China in April last year, the primary industry authorities of our two countries co-signed an arrangement of the Agricultural Growth Partnership (AGP), which aims to foster stronger ties between New Zealand and China's agricultural sectors through coordinated, strategic cooperation. During Premier Li Keqiang's visit to New Zealand in March this year, the leaders of our two countries put forward a 1+3 win-win cooperation initiative between China and New Zealand. Here 1 means building 'one' highest standard free trade zone, and 3 means fostering 'three areas' of cooperation including strategic connectivity, innovation oriented cooperation and primary industry. These cooperation initiatives go very much in line with One Belt One Road Initiative put forward by President Xi Jinping. The goal of one belt one road is about to break the bottle neck of economic development, facilitate the easy flow of the transportation , fully demonstrate the comparative advantage of the countries along the road and the belt ,strengthen the software interconnection of finance, rule, regulation and standards etc so as to achieve win-win results.

In terms of 'One Belt, One Road', New Zealand was the first western country to sign the cooperation agreement with china. In May this year, Minister Goldsmith led a delegation to attend the "One Belt, One Road" international cooperation forum in Beijing. They met many people in China including China Chamber of Commerce of Foodstuffs and Native Produce, and other key agricultural associations and enterprises, seeking opportunities for the agricultural cooperation between the two sides. Today, the Chengdu delegation's participation in the "New Zealand National Agricultural Exhibition" in Hamilton is also a vivid reflection of the fast growing economic and trade ties between China and New Zealand.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Primary industry is the backbone of New Zealand economy. Chengdu is not only well known for its hotpot spicy food and giant panda but also an important high-quality agricultural area and food processing and logistics distribution center in southwestern China. Chendu has already had good base for cooperation with New Zealand. As far as I know, New Zealand has more than 20 investment projects in Chengdu as of now. we are faced with tremendous opportunities in the agricultural cooperation between the two sides. In future, we should go beyond trade with each other but also strive to establish the whole industry chain of cooperation, including investment, research, management, food safety, etc. Through our joint efforts, I believe the economic cooperation between our two countries will enjoy better future and will surely push China-New Zealand comprehensive strategic partnership to a new level. Wish the exhibition great success!

Thank you!