The overseas roadshow of the 2nd China International Import Expo 2019 kicked off on Dec. 3rd in Auckland, New Zealand. Jointly held by the China International Import Expo Bureau and the National Exhibition and Convention Center (Shanghai), the first stop of the road show in Auckland attracted exporters across New Zealand. A number of companies and institutions signed up on-site for the exhibition with an agreed exhibition area of over 1,600 square meters.

China is currently New Zealand's largest trading partner. Bilateral trade between the two countries has increased from NZ $6.8 billion to NZ $26.1 billion over the past decade. In recent years, New Zealand's exports to China have increased at an even faster pace: by 9% in 2016, 30% in 2017 and 20% in the first three quarters of 2018. 

According to Huang Yuefeng, the Economic and Commercial Counsellor of the Chinese Embassy in New Zealand, China and New Zealand have recently reached a consensus to work together towards enhanced free trade agreements and greater market openness so that each other would safeguard free trade.

China’s firm stand on opening-up to the world has offered New Zealand enterprises broad prospects for cooperation. Stephen Jacobi, executive director of the New Zealand China Council, said that the import expo provides a very good platform for New Zealand and Chinese businesses to expand their trade. He suggests that the New Zealand government further strengthen its cooperation with the Chinese government and encourage local enterprises to introduce products that have greater competitiveness and that are of higher quality to China.

The 1st China International Import Expo, successfully held in Shanghai from November 5 to 10, 2018, brought about fruitful results, offering tangible benefits to many New Zealand companies. According to the official data, a total of 45 enterprises from New Zealand participated in the exhibition, covering an area of more than 5,000 square meters, and signed intended deals worth over 590 million US dollars with 114 Chinese companies during the expo, an average of around 100,000 US dollars per square meter of exhibition area. This was also an important reason behind the active participation of many New Zealand enterprises.

Mike Arend, an adviser on the Chinese economy of the New Zealand Trade and Enterprise, said that New Zealand’s enterprises have achieved great success in the import expo and hopes for strengthened cooperation with the import expo bureau to support more New Zealand enterprises, especially small- and medium-sized ones, to gain more opportunities in the Chinese market through the import expo platform.

Liu Fuxue, deputy director of the China International Import Expo Bureau and leader of the show, expressed that he had anticipated that the road show would be warmly received right from its first stop; since the exhibition invitation work for the 2nd import expo started on July 1 this year, a large number of foreign businesses have signed up for the expo with a contracted exhibition area of over 30,000 square meters, and there are also a large number of companies still in talks with the  bureau. Compared to the first session, it is expected that booths will be snatched up much faster at the 2nd import expo.

The roadshow is supported by the Chinese Embassy in New Zealand, the Consulate-General of the PRC in Auckland and the China Chamber of Commerce in New Zealand. Wang Lei, president of the China Chamber of Commerce in New Zealand, said that the chamber of commerce will play an active role in promoting trade and investment between China and New Zealand. The Bank of China (New Zealand), as the head institution of the China Chamber of Commerce in New Zealand, will also carry out services to connect exhibitors with Chinese importers.

At the roadshow, six companies including Fonterra, Fisher & Paykel, Mataura Valley Milk, Silver Fern Farm, Pic’s Peanut Butter and Oceania Dairy shared their experiences and achievements in participating in the 1st expo.

Following its successful debut at Auckland, the overseas roadshow of the import expo will also appear in Australia, Indonesia, the United States, Panama and Brazil. Exhibitors can sign up on the official website of the China International Import Expo (www.ciie.org).