In a show of commitment to multilateralism and free trade, China and New Zealand upgraded their free trade agreement on Jan 26.

The deal added new chapters on e-commerce, environment and trade, competition policy and government procurement, in addition to improvements on customs procedures and cooperation, rules of origin and technical barriers to trade.

New Zealand exporters will benefit from reduced trade barriers including simplified customs procedures, greater transparency and less red tape, which would facilitate and improve the overall flow of trade in goods, according to the agreement.

Fiona Acheson, regional director in Greater China of the New Zealand Trade and Enterprise (NZTE), who supports enterprises from New Zealand in exploring market opportunities in China via the China International Import Expo (CIIE), said a number of enterprises from New Zealand have signed up for the fourth CIIE, scheduled to be held in Shanghai from Nov 5 to 10 this year.

The annual national-level expo, which showcases China's commitment to open up its market to the world, has attracted exhibitors from New Zealand to display their products for three years in a row.

Dan Mathieson, CEO of Zespri, a kiwifruit brand from New Zealand that participated in the third CIIE, said the CIIE means a lot to every exhibitor as the expo provides a good opportunity to benefit from China's economic growth.

CEO of Theland, a New Zealand dairy brand, said that making product debut at the CIIE can result in the exhibits becoming popular products in China.

Official data showed that in the first 11 months in 2020, China imported a total of 306,700 tons of infant formula, of which 63,800 tons were imported from New Zealand, accounting for 20.8 percent of the total. This meant that New Zealand is the second biggest source of infant formula for China, with the first being the European Union.

In addition to dairy products, export of products from New Zealand such as meat, pet food, kiwi and honey have also been increasing.

Hundreds of companies have signed up for the fourth CIIE, which will continue to host six exhibition areas for food and agricultural products, automobiles, intelligent industry and information technology, consumer goods, medical equipment and healthcare products and also trade in services.