The New Zealand–China Free Trade Agreement is a bilateral

free trade Free trade is a trade policy that does not restrict imports or exports. In government, free trade is predominantly advocated by political parties that hold Economic liberalism, economically liberal positions, while economic nationalist politica ...

agreement signed between the

People's Republic of China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

and

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

in April 2008. It is the first free trade agreement that China has signed with any

developed country A developed country, or advanced country, is a sovereign state that has a high quality of life, developed economy, and advanced technological infrastructure relative to other less industrialized nations. Most commonly, the criteria for eval ...

, and New Zealand's largest trade deal since the 1983

Closer Economic Relations The Australia–New Zealand Closer Economic Relations Trade Agreement, commonly known as Closer Economic Relations (CER), is a free trade agreement between Australia and New Zealand. It came into force on 1 January 1983, but the actual treaty w ...

agreement with

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

. The New Zealand-China FTA was signed on 7 April 2008 in

Beijing Beijing, Chinese postal romanization, previously romanized as Peking, is the capital city of China. With more than 22 million residents, it is the world's List of national capitals by population, most populous national capital city as well as ...

, after negotiations that spanned fifteen rounds over three years. It entered into force on 1 October 2008, after

ratification Ratification is a principal's legal confirmation of an act of its agent. In international law, ratification is the process by which a state declares its consent to be bound to a treaty. In the case of bilateral treaties, ratification is usuall ...

by the New Zealand Parliament. The provisions of the agreement are expected to be phased in gradually over 12 years, fully coming into force in 2019.

Agreements

Under the agreement, 37 per cent of Chinese exports to New Zealand and 35 per cent of New Zealand exports to China will be tariff free by October 2008. All tariffs for Chinese exports to New Zealand will be eliminated by 2016, and 96 per cent of New Zealand exports to China will be tariff free by 2019. Mutual investment and trade in services will also be facilitated.Key outcomes
, New Zealand - China Free Trade Agreement, New Zealand Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade. The deal also allows 1,800 specialised workers to go from China to New Zealand for a period of up to three years. This, however, will be limited to approved occupations and to a maximum of 100 such workers in any sector, except for traditional Chinese medicine practitioners, Chinese chefs, and Mandarin teaching aides, which have maximums of 150 or 200. New Zealand will also establish a

working holiday A working holiday visa is a residence permit that allows travellers to undertake employment (and sometimes study) in the country issuing the visa to supplement their travel funds. For many young people, holding a working holiday visa enables the ...

scheme enabling up to 1,000 young Chinese nationals annually to travel and work in New Zealand for up to 12 months. Both countries have agreed to enhance business visa conditions and processing.Temporary entry and employment
New Zealand - China Free Trade Agreement, New Zealand Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade.

History

2008 agreement

The New Zealand-China free trade agreement took over three years to negotiate. On 19 November 2004,

Helen Clark Helen Elizabeth Clark (born 26 February 1950) is a New Zealand politician who served as the 37th prime minister of New Zealand from 1999 to 2008 and was the administrator of the United Nations Development Programme from 2009 to 2017. She was ...

and

President of the People's Republic of China The president of China, officially the president of the People's Republic of China, is the List of state representatives of the People's Republic of China, state representative of the China, People's Republic of China. On its own, it is a Fig ...

Hu Jintao Hu Jintao (born 21 December 1942) is a Chinese retired politician who served as the general secretary of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) from 2002 to 2012, the president of China from 2003 to 2013, and chairman of the Central Military Comm ...

announced the commencement of negotiations towards an FTA at the

APEC Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC ) is an inter-governmental forum for 21 member economy , economies in the Pacific Rim that promotes free trade throughout the Asia-Pacific region. Following the success of Association of Southeast Asia ...

Leaders meeting in

Santiago Santiago (, ; ), also known as Santiago de Chile (), is the capital and largest city of Chile and one of the largest cities in the Americas. It is located in the country's central valley and is the center of the Santiago Metropolitan Regi ...

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in western South America. It is the southernmost country in the world and the closest to Antarctica, stretching along a narrow strip of land between the Andes, Andes Mountains and the Paci ...

. The first round of negotiations was held in December 2004. Fifteen rounds took place before the FTA was signed in April 2008 by New Zealand's Minister of Trade

Phil Goff Philip Bruce Goff (born 22 June 1953) is a New Zealand retired politician and former diplomat. He was a member of the New Zealand Parliament from 1981 to 1990 and again from 1993 to 2016. He served as Leader of the New Zealand Labour Party, le ...

and the Chinese Minister of Commerce

Chen Deming Chen Deming (; born 1949) is a Chinese former politician and President of Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Straits of the People's Republic of China. Early life Chen was born in Shanghai in 1949. He went on to receive a Bachelor's De ...

at the

Great Hall of the People The Great Hall of the People is a state building situated to the west of Tiananmen Square in Beijing. It is used for legislative and ceremonial activities by the government of the People's Republic of China. The People's Great Hall functions as ...

. The deal was welcomed by a number of New Zealand exporters including the dairy cooperative Fonterra and the New Zealand Seafood Industry Council, while others such as the appliance manufacturer

Fisher & Paykel Fisher & Paykel Appliances Holdings Limited () is a major appliance manufacturer founded in 1934. It is a subsidiary of Chinese multinational home appliances company Haier and is based in East Tāmaki, New Zealand. Originally an importer of do ...

stated that the deal would lead to tougher competition with cheaper-priced Chinese products. The New Zealand Council of Trade Unions opposed the inclusion of workforce in the trade agreement stating that there is potential for skilled Chinese workers to be exploited and underpaid. While the FTA enjoys the support of New Zealand's two largest political parties, Labour and National, the

Green Party A green party is a formally organized political party based on the principles of green politics, such as environmentalism and social justice. Green party platforms typically embrace Social democracy, social democratic economic policies and fo ...

and the

Māori Party Māori or Maori can refer to: Relating to the Māori people * Māori people of New Zealand, or members of that group * Māori language, the language of the Māori people of New Zealand * Māori culture * Cook Islanders, the Māori people of the Co ...

opposed the agreement even before it was signed. Members of the

protested against the signing of the deal, with Keith Locke saying that easier access to a cheap Chinese workforce could undermine New Zealand workers. Following the signing,

New Zealand First New Zealand First (), commonly abbreviated to NZ First or NZF, is a political party in New Zealand, founded and led by Winston Peters, who has served three times as Deputy Prime Minister of New Zealand, deputy prime minister. The party has form ...

announced that it opposed the deal. Public opinion was divided at the time; a poll published a week before the signing showed 45% supported the deal, while 32% opposed it.

Upgrade protocol

In 2014, China and New Zealand announced that they would seek an upgrade of the free trade agreement. Following nine rounds of negotiations, the negotiations for the upgrade protocol were concluded in 2019 and signed in 2020. New provisions included making exports to China easier, improving China's commitment to environmental standards, integrating with the

Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership The Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP ) is a free trade agreement among the Asia-Pacific countries of Australia, Brunei, Cambodia, China, Indonesia, Japan, South Korea, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, New Zealand, the Philippines, S ...

and giving New Zealand preferential access to the wood and paper trade with China. In return, New Zealand will ease visa restrictions for Chinese tour guides and

Chinese language Chinese ( or ) is a group of languages spoken natively by the ethnic Han Chinese majority and List of ethnic groups in China, many minority ethnic groups in China, as well as by various communities of the Chinese diaspora. Approximately 1.39& ...

teachers. Tariffs were eliminated or reduced on New Zealand exports such as dairy, timber, and seafood as well as compliance costs. Following the upgrade protocol, on 1 January 2024, tariffs were lifted on all New Zealand dairy imports including milk powder to China as part of the NZ-China free trade agreement. This development was welcomed by Minister of Trade and Agriculture Todd McClay, who estimated it would bring NZ$330 million worth of revenue to the New Zealand economy.

References

External links

New Zealand - China Free Trade Agreement
New Zealand Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade
Full text of New Zealand - China Free Trade Agreement
New Zealand Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade {{DEFAULTSORT:New Zealand-China Free Trade Agreement Free trade agreements of New Zealand Free trade agreements of China Treaties concluded in 2008 Treaties of the People's Republic of China Treaties entered into force in 2008 China–New Zealand relations Bilateral treaties of New Zealand