Latest / Best of Business / Fran O'Sullivan: NZME business commentator on Chinese Premier Li Qiang visiting New Zealand for the first time in seven years

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Fran O'Sullivan: NZME business commentator on Chinese Premier Li Qiang visiting New Zealand for the first time in seven years · Best of Business

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• 0:16
  Speaker 2: Now.
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  Speaker 3: The Chinese premiere is going to visit New Zealand. It's
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  Speaker 3: the first time since twenty seventeen. We spoke to Trade
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  Speaker 3: Minister Todd McClay about it earlier and right now in
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  Speaker 3: Zidney's Business commentator ran O Sullivan's with us.
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  Speaker 2: Hello, Frian, good evening.
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  Speaker 3: How significant do you think this is?
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  Speaker 2: Well, it's very significant, rust for the very reason you
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  Speaker 2: said there hasn't been a visit for a very long time.
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  Speaker 2: More particularly, I mean really really that he's coming here
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  Speaker 2: because he's also going to Australia and you know, essentially
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  Speaker 2: they've warmed that relationship up a bit now and the
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  Speaker 2: coercive behavior that China was exhibiting towards Australia has pretty
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  Speaker 2: much stopped and normal trade has resumed. And that's been
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  Speaker 2: something which has happened under Alban Eazi. We haven't had
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  Speaker 2: anything like that in our own relationship with China. We've
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  Speaker 2: been quite careful, we do. Over the last few we've
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  Speaker 2: taken a much more robust approach and talk more openly
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  Speaker 2: about the things that concern New Zealand resum of China's behavior,
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  Speaker 2: for instance in the South China Sea and more recently,
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  Speaker 2: you know, issues around Aucus where essentially the government is
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  Speaker 2: sort of has taken the view that it will make
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  Speaker 2: its own mind what it does in New Zealand's security interests,
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  Speaker 2: and so it's much more plain speaking now and it's
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  Speaker 2: taken China a while to get used to that, and
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  Speaker 2: you know, it's going to be interesting. I'm picking it
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  Speaker 2: will be a pretty constructive visit though, I mean, you know,
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  Speaker 2: they'll have.
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  Speaker 3: One of the things around that we need more than
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  Speaker 3: anything right now, is investment in this country. Right Is
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  Speaker 3: there a direct line between somebody like him turning up
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  Speaker 3: and businesses in China seeing yep, it's a stable relationship
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  Speaker 3: and therefore investing in us.
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  Speaker 2: Well, I think that that is very much part of it,
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  Speaker 2: and there will be business optimism as a result of this.
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  Speaker 2: Not so much China investing in here. It's more China
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  Speaker 2: buying our goods. That's a big thing. We do actually
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  Speaker 2: have substantial Chinese investment in New Zealand, and a lot
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  Speaker 2: of the Chinese investment is sort of staying home at
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  Speaker 2: the moment because things have been pretty pinched there and
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  Speaker 2: people have got over stretched with some of the large companies,
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  Speaker 2: so you know that sort of hauled back of it.
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  Speaker 3: And one of the.
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  Speaker 2: Things China does want is much more streamline investment. It
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  Speaker 2: will want to know, for instance, you know how the
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  Speaker 2: government would apply a security lens to any application by
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  Speaker 2: a major China co each of practice come and here
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  Speaker 2: be involved with energy or whatever, something which could significantly
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  Speaker 2: have a major impact in New Zealand. So these are
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  Speaker 2: the things that behind scenes will we talked about, but
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  Speaker 2: we do expect the comprehensive strategic partnership will be upgraded
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  Speaker 2: than we movements on services trade. China wants faster visa entry.
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  Speaker 2: I mean it's painfully slow and it's actually hindering tourism
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  Speaker 2: and New Zealand as well. So there's a range of things.
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  Speaker 2: But after a very long time, and also after having
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  Speaker 2: had the COVID period as well, it's good to get
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  Speaker 2: this going right. There's a lot of tension out there
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  Speaker 2: as no in the Pacific, and we're part of that
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  Speaker 2: as well. I think hopefully the spy is a few
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  Speaker 2: more years peace.
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  Speaker 3: Yeah, dialogue is better than no dialogue, hey friend, Thank
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  Speaker 3: you very much. As always fran Of Sullivan Enzimy's business commentators.
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