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New Zealand PM kicks off China visit

China

China

China

New Zealand PM kicks off China visit

2025-06-18 22:01 Last Updated At:06-19 01:17

New Zealand Prime Minister Christopher Luxon started his official visit to China in Shanghai on Wednesday, leading a delegation of senior officials and business leaders to explore potential collaboration opportunities with its largest trading partner.

Luxon's visit marks his first trip to China since taking office in November 2023. His delegation includes top New Zealand companies including Fonterra, Zespri, A2 Milk, and Silver Fern Farms.

At a business event hosted by New Zealand's biggest dairy cooperative Fonterra, Luxon celebrated the group's recognition of a new ‘grass-fed standard’ and promoted his country's premium meat and milk products.

"When consumers choose New Zealand, we want them to have full confidence about the products from New Zealand that they're buying. That's why this new ‘grass-fed standard’ delivers. It sets a very, very clear standard and a benchmark that provides assurance to you as the consumers," he said.

The China-New Zealand Free Trade Agreement means all New Zealand dairy products have been able to enter China without tariffs or limits since January 2024. This gives New Zealand dairy companies more chances to grow in the Chinese market.

"An economy like China that, you know, continues to grow at a time when the rest of the world is actually slowing down somewhat, but you're seeing significant growth in the Chinese economy. So, their growing middle class, and people are looking for safe, nutritious food to know where it comes from. And so, the ‘grass-fed standard’ underpinning all of that is something that we see as a huge opportunity for us to work with our customers, consumers in this market to grow further," said Fonterra CEO Miles Hurrell.

"The introduction of this standard presents an advanced concept for global dairy products. Fonterra's dairy products have been very popular in China's Western cuisine and catering industry since entering the market," said Yang Liu, president of the China Cuisine Association.

Luxon also witnessed the signing of a memorandum of understanding between China Eastern Airlines and Auckland Airport on launching the Shanghai-Auckland-South America route. The Prime Minister said that airline cooperation is key to boosting tourism between China, New Zealand, the Pacific Islands, and even South America.

"China Eastern has announced it will launch this new route in December, the first airline to do so. It's a smart strategic move that strengthens our links with two major regions, and reinforces Auckland's role as a world class transit hub. We are really excited to see two global growth regions, China and South America, being linked through Auckland,” said Luxon.

After wrapping up his visit to Shanghai, the prime minister will continue on to Beijing, for meetings and talks with Chinese leaders on bilateral relations and international and regional issues of common concern.

New Zealand PM kicks off China visit

New Zealand PM kicks off China visit

The death toll from a landfill collapse in the central Philippine city of Cebu has risen to eight by Monday morning as search and rescue operations continued for another 28 missing people.

The landfill collapse occurred on Thursday as dozens of sanitation workers were working at the site. The disaster has already caused injuries of 18 people.

Family members of the missing people said the rescue progress is slow, and the hope for the survival of their loved ones is fading.

"For me, maybe I’ve accepted the worst result already because the garbage is poisonous and yesterday, it was raining very hard the whole day. Maybe they’ve been poisoned. For us, alive or dead, I hope we can get their bodies out of the garbage rubble," said Maria Kareen Rubin, a family member of a victim.

Families have set up camps on high ground near the landfill, awaiting news of their relatives. Some people at the site said cries for help could still be heard hours after the landfill collapsed, but these voices gradually faded away.

Bienvenido Ranido, who lost his wife in the disaster, said he can't believe all that happened.

"After they gave my wife oxygen, my kids and I were expecting that she would be saved that night because she was still alive. But the night came and till the next morning, they didn't manage to save her," he said.

Death toll in central Philippine landfill collapse rises to eight

Death toll in central Philippine landfill collapse rises to eight

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