New Year helps boost visitor arrivals
An increase in holidaymakers from China helped boost visitor arrivals to a record high for a January month according to Statistics New Zealand. Monthly visitor arrivals numbered 343,400 in January 2016, up 41,000 (14 percent) from January 2015."Visitor arrivals from China picked up towards the end of January, in the...
$3.7m available for NZ-China research centres
Science and Innovation Minister Steven Joyce announced a call for proposals for three multi-institution New Zealand-China Research Collaboration Centres to be supported as part of the new Catalyst Fund international research programme on 29 February 2016.The Catalyst Fund, worth $9.3 million annually and administered by the...
We confuse “relationship with Asia” and “selling ...
In my first three months with the Asia New Zealand Foundation, I have been troubled by the way many New Zealanders view Asia. As a country, our relationships with Asia have become more substantial and complex since the foundation was established in 1994. But there is a large gap between the importance of Asia to New Zealand...
The current volatility in China's stock markets is not a ...
What a bumpy start to the year for the global share markets due to China’s volatile share markets. On 7 January 2016, the China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC) made an urgent decision to suspend their “circuit breaker” mechanism. A UK friend commented to me this week that nowadays China cannot be...
Slowdown tipped for China investment
Crashing stockmarkets and a crackdown on cash leaving China could disrupt plans for development and investment in New Zealand.Economist Shamubeel Eaqub said the outflow of foreign investment from China was "massive" in 2015, but new rules and regulations would rein it in."They've really tightened up in terms of...
Reality Check on China
When it comes to understanding the intricacies and inconsistencies of doing business in China, few can match the knowledge of Guangzhou-based lawyer and NZTE Beachheads advisor Jeremy Sargent. Sharing his personal experience on China with a gathering of exporters recently at NZTE’s Auckland office, he explained how he...
China’s e-commerce giant takes on the World
Over the last couple of years many New Zealand businesses have become aware of the online shopping phenomenon in China. Spurred on by consumer demand for quality and variety and accelerated further in recent years by growth in Internet access via smartphones, the online shopping Tsunami has grown bigger and more powerful. And...
China declares no new coal mines for next three years
China announced plans recently to halt new coal mine approvals for the next three years, and close 1,000 coal mines as part of its fight against air pollution. The announcement, made in a speech by the Head of China’s National Energy Administration at the annual meeting of energy planners, also includes plans to further...
NZ/China PhD scholarships programme
Tertiary Education, Skills and Employment Minister Steven Joyce announced on 2 November 2015 the resumption of a reciprocal research scholarships programme with China that will award up to 40 PhD scholarships over 2016/2017. The Doctoral Research Scholarships programme was launched alongside the New Zealand/China Free...
NZ welcomes China’s support for Ross Sea MPA
Foreign Minister Murray McCully has welcomed China’s announcement that it could support a Ross Sea region marine protected area (MPA). “New Zealand has been working closely with all parties to the Convention on the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR) to develop an MPA that balances...
.jpg)
Does China Need The Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP)?
The recently announced agreement on the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) has caused great concern and debate about its impact on China. The dominant view, including the official reaction, is that China’s exports will be negatively affected by the TPP since its members enjoy low tariffs among themselves. The loss in...
China to 2020
The year 2016 marks the beginning of China’s 13th Five Year Plan (2016-2020) - the key national planning document. China’s 1st Five Year Plan (FYP) was enacted in 1953 and since then the FYP has become the blueprint for China’s political, economic and social development. The 12th FYP (2011-2015) was...