Wang Yi visited New Zealand and Australia for the first time in seven years to promote the steady and long-term development of the comprehensive strategic partnership

From March 17 to 21, Wang Yi, member of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee and Minister of Foreign Affairs, was invited to pay an official visit to New Zealand and Australia, which was the first time in seven years that a Chinese foreign minister visited New Zealand and Australia. This year marks the 10th anniversary of the establishment of a comprehensive strategic partnership between China, New Zealand and Australia. Taking this as an opportunity, Wang Yi's visit officially kicked off this year's high-level exchanges between China and New Zealand and China and Australia.

Speaking about China-New Zealand relations, Wang Yi said that since the beginning of diplomatic relations between China and New Zealand, the two sides have always adhered to mutual respect, mutual tolerance, focused cooperation and people-to-people benefits, and constantly set new records of cooperation, so that China-New Zealand relations can maintain a leading position in China's relations with developed countries, which is an important and unique value of China-New Zealand relations. During the visit, Wang Yi had an extensive and in-depth exchange of views with the New Zealand Foreign Minister and leaders on bilateral relations and international and regional issues of common concern.

On March 20, local time, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese met with visiting Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi in Canberra. Wang Yi said that under the strategic guidance of the leaders of the two countries, the obstacles encountered in China-Australia relations have been overcome one by one, and the outstanding cases are being properly resolved, bringing tangible benefits to the two peoples and injecting new impetus into the China-Australia comprehensive strategic partnership. Now that China-Australia relations have returned to the right track and the direction of progress has been clarified, the two sides should move forward firmly, without hesitation, hesitation or reversal, and work together to create a brighter future for bilateral relations. Albanese said that the Australian side is pleased to see that in the past two years, Australia-China relations have returned to the right direction, and trade, investment and people-to-people exchanges have been active again, constantly releasing positive signals and making important breakthroughs. The Australian side spoke highly of China's achievements in development and poverty alleviation, and is willing to maintain close high-level exchanges with China and deepen mutually beneficial cooperation in various fields. The Australia-China relationship should not be defined by differences and differences, and should seek common ground as much as possible.

Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin said that China looks forward to working with the two countries to implement the consensus reached by the leaders of the two countries, strengthen strategic communication, enhance mutual trust, deepen exchanges and cooperation, jointly promote the steady and long-term development of the China-Singapore and China-Australia comprehensive strategic partnership, and make positive contributions to world peace, stability, development and prosperity.

Wang Yiwei, director of the Institute of International Affairs of the Chinese University and an expert of the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade, told the 21st Century Business Herald reporter that Foreign Minister Wang Yi's second visit to New Zealand and Australia after seven years is not only to maintain regional security, but also to show China's open attitude and to upgrade the free trade agreement between countries. He believes that this year, China proposed to focus on promoting the development of new quality productive forces, and cultivating advanced manufacturing has also brought new development opportunities to these countries.

China and Singapore create many "firsts"

At present, the development of globalization is facing many challenges, and regional cooperation is becoming more and more important. This year marks the 10th anniversary of the establishment of the comprehensive strategic partnership between China and New Zealand and China and Australia, so in the eyes of the outside world, Wang Yi's visit to New Zealand and Australia at this time is "opportune".

Zhou Fangyin, vice president of the Guangdong Institute of International Strategic Studies, told the 21st Century Business Herald reporter that the visit has several characteristics in terms of timing: First, China has started a new diplomatic agenda shortly after the conclusion of the National People's Congress and the National People's Congress and the National People's Congress of the People's Republic of China; second, it is to consolidate the achievements of the improvement of Sino-Australian relations after Australian Prime Minister Albanese's visit to China in November last year, and to hold the seventh round of China-Australia diplomatic and strategic dialogue with the Australian foreign minister, so as to conduct China-Australia diplomatic and strategic dialogue in a more institutionalized way. In addition, the strengthening of economic and trade cooperation between China and Australia and China and New Zealand is also of positive significance to regional cooperation, which will help weaken the situation of grouping and blocization in the region and reduce the impact of "decoupling and breaking the chain" of the United States.

The visit of the Chinese foreign minister also made an excellent impression on the New Zealand side. New Zealand Foreign Minister Peters told the media that the talks with Wang Yi were "very pleasant and very friendly".

China has always regarded New Zealand as a rational and mature partner. Since the establishment of diplomatic relations, China and New Zealand have set a record for cooperation, for example, New Zealand was the first Western country to support China's accession to the World Trade Organization and the first Western country to decide to join the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank. New Zealand is also the first developed country to recognize China's full market economy status, the first to start bilateral free trade area negotiations with China and sign a free trade agreement, and the first developed country to sign a memorandum of understanding with China on the Belt and Road Initiative. The fact that the two countries have set a number of "firsts" shows the value and importance of China-New Zealand relations.

In recent years, the cooperation between China and Singapore has continued to reach new heights, which can be seen from the economic and trade cooperation between the two countries, which has reached new heights. Since the establishment of diplomatic relations in 1972, bilateral trade between China and New Zealand has grown from S$7 million to more than S$40 billion in 2022. According to media statistics, it took six years for the trade volume between China and Singapore to exceed S$20 billion, four years for S$30 billion, and only three years for S$40 billion.

China has become an indispensable trading partner for New Zealand. As of 2023, China has been New Zealand's largest trading partner for 10 consecutive years, accounting for about 30% of New Zealand's external exports of goods and services, and China has also maintained its position as New Zealand's largest export market and largest source of imports for many years. At the same time, the two countries are further exploring new economic and trade growth points. In 2016, China and Singapore launched negotiations to upgrade their FTAs, which aim to further reduce trade barriers and liberalize market access for services and goods.

In this regard, Zhou Fangyin said, "One of the important contents of the FTA upgrade protocol, which will come into force in 2022, is to improve market access for goods and services, enhance the facilitation of trade between the two countries, and the two sides also commit to cooperate in new areas such as e-commerce, environmental protection, small and medium-sized enterprises and competition policy." It is reported that on January 1 this year, China fully implemented zero tariffs on dairy products imported from New Zealand, which marks the full implementation of the China-New Zealand Free Trade Agreement.

Lan Qingxin, a researcher at the Institute of Regional Economics of the University of International Business and Economics, told the 21st Century Business Herald reporter that the political and economic relations between China and New Zealand have developed well in recent years, and the mutual trust between the two countries has been continuously enhanced. China and New Zealand are economically complementary, and the degree of interdependence between the two countries is also increasing.

In terms of import and export categories, New Zealand's agricultural exports to China are strong. New Zealand's dairy products, meat and other agricultural products meet the growing demand for high-quality food in China, while China's mechanical and electrical products and textiles are major exports to New Zealand. For an island economy like New Zealand, which is highly dependent on free trade and overseas markets, regional economic cooperation is particularly important to the country's economic development. Therefore, the signing and implementation of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) between China and New Zealand is of great significance to stimulate the vitality of regional cooperation.

"RCEP is the world's largest free trade area, and the effect will gradually appear after the network is established. Wang Yiwei said that New Zealand has shown influence in the South Pacific in areas such as agriculture, biopharmaceuticals, tourism and blue economy, so there will be a lot of room for complementary cooperation between China and Singapore.

China and Australia have opened a diplomatic and strategic dialogue

On March 20, local time, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese met with visiting Wang Yi in Canberra.

During the talks, Albanese said that the Australian side is pleased to see that in the past two years, Australia-China relations have returned to the right direction, and trade, investment and people-to-people exchanges have been active again, constantly releasing positive signals and making important breakthroughs. The Australia-China relationship should not be defined by differences and differences, and should seek common ground as much as possible. Wang Yi also said that China is ready to work with Australia to further strengthen high-level exchanges, restore the dialogue mechanism between the two countries, deepen mutually beneficial cooperation in various fields, manage and transcend differences in an attitude of mutual respect, and jointly promote the building of a more mature, stable and fruitful China-Australia comprehensive strategic partnership.

After a lapse of seven years, the background of Wang Yi's visit is that China-Australia relations, which have experienced several years of turmoil, are gradually warming up and moving towards stable development. During his visit to Australia, Wang Yi and Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong held the seventh round of the China-Australia Diplomatic and Strategic Dialogue, which was also the focus of attention from the outside world. Previously, due to the twists and turns experienced in China-Australia relations, this bilateral dialogue mechanism was put on hold for several years. Until December 2022, Wang Yi and visiting Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong held the sixth round of the China-Australia Diplomatic and Strategic Dialogue in Beijing.

"In this high-level exchange between China and Australia, 'maturity' and 'stability' are high-frequency words. Lin Duo, an assistant researcher at the Asia-Pacific Institute of the China Institute of International Studies, told the 21st Century Business Herald reporter that the development of Sino-Australian bilateral relations has confirmed the value of independent diplomacy, and the Australian Labor Party government tried to jump out of the rigid thinking of the previous government that completely followed the United States' suppression of China, and actively improved relations with China; There are many differences in industrial structure and other aspects, but the cooperation between the two sides has set a good example of cooperation between Asia-Pacific countries seeking common ground while reserving differences.

Since the sixth round of the Australia-China Diplomatic and Strategic Dialogue in 2022, the two countries have established a long-term mechanism for high-level engagement, including the Track 1.5 High-Level Dialogue, the China-Australia Business CEO Roundtable, and the exchange of visits by business delegations from both countries.

Wang Yiwei participated in the China-Australia High-level Dialogue. He believes that the people-to-people exchanges between China and Australia and the exchange of visits between the business community have achieved good results, "Australia is a trading country, and strengthening the ties between the economic and business circles will help strengthen bilateral relations." ”

Lan Qingxin also believes that the dialogue between the Chinese and Australian business communities has built a communication platform for the development of enterprises. Although China and Australia once had geopolitical conflicts, the economic exchanges, especially the business community, can bring the economic benefits they need and increase the well-being between the countries, which is a typical example of economic interests driving the development of political and economic relations between the two countries.

Another highlight of Wang Yi's visit to Australia is that China and Australia continue to discuss their respective trade concerns through dialogue and consultation. Since the beginning of 2023, Australian products such as coal, logs, barley, and hay have returned to the Chinese market. Zhou Fangyin said that China had previously lifted most trade restrictions on Australian goods, making a positive gesture for the improvement of China-Australia relations.

The impact of the lifting of trade restrictions has also been significant. In October 2023, China imported 313,700 tonnes of barley from Australia, worth 635 million yuan, according to the General Administration of Customs. This is the first month for China to import barley from Australia after the Ministry of Commerce reviewed and cancelled the "double anti-dumping" policy on Australian barley in August of the same year, and it is also the first time that Australian barley import records have appeared in the import and export database of the General Administration of Customs since China implemented the "double anti-dumping" policy on Australian barley in May 2020 for more than three years. Australia is currently China's second-largest supplier of imported barley, after France.

The interviewed experts believe that the economic and trade between China and Australia has a strong complementarity. Lin Duo told reporters that China's comparative advantages lie in abundant labor resources, a growing middle-class consumer market, and high-quality and high-price industrial products; Australia's comparative advantages are mainly concentrated in energy and minerals, capital, technology, and resource products. There is a high degree of trade complementarity between the two sides in terms of capital-intensive and labor-intensive products.

"Australia's iron ore, fossil fuels and raw materials are important to China, the largest manufacturing powerhouse, and for a long time, Australia will not be able to find an export market that can replace China. Zhou Fangyin believes that if more trade restrictions are lifted in the future, it will create a better atmosphere for the development of China-Australia economic and trade relations, enhance the confidence of the two sides to further deepen cooperation, and enhance the certainty of China-Australia economic and trade relations.

In recent years, the trade volume between China and Australia has repeatedly reached new highs, demonstrating the strong resilience of bilateral economic and trade between the two countries. According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics, in the first 11 months of 2023, the trade in goods between the two countries amounted to about 281.263 billion Australian dollars (1 Australian dollar is about 0.66 US dollars), a year-on-year increase of 8.52%. In addition, China has been Australia's largest trading partner for 15 consecutive years, and is both Australia's largest export destination and the largest source of imports. At the same time, Australia has become China's seventh largest trading partner. In terms of trade in services, China has been Australia's largest export destination for services for many years.

Talking about the future cooperation space between China and Australia in industrial development, Lin Duo said that the mineral processing technology of China and Australia is relatively mature, the industrial chain is complete, and the cooperation of critical minerals can become a new growth point for China-Australia cooperation, such as lithium ore, which is widely used in the new energy industry, and rare earth minerals used in the military industry, aerospace industry, electronic products, and new materials industries, which can become a new starting point for bilateral and multilateral cooperation between China and Australia. In addition, China and Australia also have great potential for cooperation in the fields of new energy, digital economy, green development and climate change.

Wang Yiwei said that continuing to tap the potential of China-Australia cooperation is the direction of the future efforts of the two countries, "Strengthening cooperation between China and Australia will help the surrounding areas to eliminate misunderstandings about the Maritime Silk Road, jointly respond to external concerns and differences on the so-called security, and the two countries can expand the space for cooperation in the field of green infrastructure in the future." ”

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