China, New Zealand Confirm Plans to Update Trade Deal

Officials from New Zealand and China have announced their plans to “upgrade” their existing trade deal, which has been in force since 2008. The news was confirmed in a joint ministerial statement issued by New Zealand Trade Minister Todd McClay and Chinese Minister of Commerce Gao Hucheng on 20 November, following a bilateral meeting on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Summit in Lima, Peru. “New Zealand was the first developed country to negotiate and conclude an FTA with China, and I’m pleased that today we have reached the fifth ‘first’ in our relationship, as the first developed country to launch and upgrade of the FTA,” said New Zealand Prime Minister John Key in a press statement following the ministerial meeting. The first round of negotiations is set to begin in the first half of 2017. Key said that the “upgrade” aims to incorporate advances made in other free trade deals which China has reached in the years since the original accord with New Zealand entered into force. For example, China has reached deals in recent years with Australia , Costa Rica , Iceland , Peru , South Korea , and Switzerland . The current FTA provides for...