New Zealand has moved from trading with a single distant partner to trading with the world, and is now well placed to benefit from the digital age, Auckland Mayor Wayne Brown said ahead of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Economic Leaders' Meeting.
The 33rd APEC Economic Leaders' Meeting is scheduled to take place in Shenzhen City, south China's Guangdong Province, from Nov. 18 to 19, under the theme "Building an Asia-Pacific Community to Prosper Together." As an APEC member economy, New Zealand has seen its trade shift from a single far-off partner to ever closer economic ties with the world, with Asia, including China, now part of the picture.
In an interview with China Global Television Network (CGTN), Brown stressed that New Zealand and China are both Pacific nations, a shared identity that he said has helped draw the two countries closer. That growing partnership is just a part of the story of how New Zealand's trade has widened over his lifetime.
"The world has been coming to New Zealand all my life. When I was a kid, we used to trade with England, which was right around the other side of the globe. You couldn't get further away. And then we started to trade with Europe, and then we started to trade with other countries in the world, and then more with Australia and more. And then we got into China and Asia," said Brown.
Brown sees New Zealand as well placed for the digital age, and he is working to give Auckland's innovation more direction and connect its businesses with partners such as China.
"We're actually quite well placed. Everything's coming towards us. We're getting closer. And in the digital world, the furthest-away places are the ones that get the biggest advantage with all the clever stuff. So now we're doing everything digitally. We looked around Auckland and we have a lot of innovation, but it wasn't really well organized. I said to the innovators in the tech companies, 'what do you need?' They said, 'a bit of leadership.' So I'm providing some leadership. And coming up here, I'm offering the fact that I have an open-door policy with the mayors of most of the big cities. That's an advantage available to my business people to keep reminding them this (China) is a great trading nation for us to share with," the mayor said.
Auckland mayor outlines New Zealand's trade journey ahead of APEC meeting
