Former New Zealand prime minister hails China trade pact as "utterly invaluable"

Former New Zealand Prime Minister Jenny Shipley praised the China-New Zealand free trade agreement as "completely and utterly invaluable", citing surging economic ties from food, baby powder to "sophisticated manufacturing" like cars.

Shipley paid a visit to China in late March to attend the Boao Forum for Asia (BFA) Annual Conference, which took place in Boao Town, in south China's Hainan Province. In an exclusive interview with China Central Television (CCTV) aired on Friday, she noted that China's manufacturing sector, especially car production, has made a leap over the past few decades.

"(The FTA is) completely and utterly invaluable. Obviously, economically, it's highly valuable. But today, we're starting to buy cars from China, it's not just tourism and education, they were early gains. And New Zealand's food (is another example) obviously, we value the China market very much, and we welcome the fact that many Chinese consumers love the products that we can bring here. The China of 30 years ago was just beginning in the areas of sophisticated manufacturing. I visited one of your car companies late last year, and really and truly, the designs of these Chinese vehicles now and the quality of the automobiles that are coming out of them and the innovation are extremely exciting and extremely competitive," she said.

"New Zealanders are buying many, many Chinese cars now and I understand there are new brands that will come into New Zealand again this year. Every household has very many things that come from your nation and they are as normal as our milk powders in your homes in China," Shirley continued.

Shipley also talked about New Zealand's iconic symbols when discussing kiwi fruit exports.

"It's a fruit, but we also have a little bird called a kiwi. It's our national bird, which is why I think the kiwi fruit was named after our national bird. The kiwi fruit is our outstanding fruit product and I see it everywhere in China," she said.

The China-New Zealand Free Trade Agreement (FTA) was initially signed on 2008 in Beijing. An upgrade protocol was signed in 2021, and took effect in 2022.

Former New Zealand prime minister hails China trade pact as "utterly invaluable"

Venezuela's acting president Delcy Rodriguez said on Sunday that the country is at a critical stage and must achieve national unity, emphasizing that maintaining internal cohesion is of utmost importance.

In a televised address, Rodriguez called on the public to continue trusting the government under the current highly complex political circumstances.

Her statement comes in the wake of a January 3 military operation conducted by the United States, during which Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his wife were taken into custody and flown out of the country.

The operation resulted in at least 100 fatalities.

Rodriguez, who was sworn in as acting president two days later on January 5, framed her appeal for unity against this backdrop of external intervention.

Meanwhile, Venezuelan Minister of Communication and Information Freddy Nanez denounced the U.S. actions as a "war crime of the 21st century" when speaking at an international cultural event on Sunday.

Nanez condemned not only the January 3 airstrikes but also the associated cyber and electromagnetic attacks.

He accused the United States of violating international law through the forced removal of President Maduro and his wife, while attacks on civilian infrastructure, including medical facilities, represent a flagrant breach of humanitarian norms.

He reiterated that the stigmatization and military attacks against Venezuela are driven by economic interests, particularly the desire to control its abundant natural resources.

Venezuelan acting president calls for national unity amid complex situation