Latest / Best of Business / Simon Bridges: Auckland Business Chamber CEO on the 12th annual China Business Summit taking place in Auckland

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Simon Bridges: Auckland Business Chamber CEO on the 12th annual China Business Summit taking place in Auckland · Best of Business

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  Speaker 1: You're listening to a podcast from News Talks'd be follow
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  Speaker 2: We've got the twelfth China Business Summit today. It's a
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  Speaker 2: twenty billion dollar trade relationship. Of course, it's an increasingly
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  Speaker 2: complex and mixed world as well. So where are we
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  Speaker 2: at with our biggest trade partner, Simon Bridges as the
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  Speaker 2: Auckland Business Chamber of CEO, of course, but he's the
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  Speaker 2: summit co ch here today and he's with us. Simon
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  Speaker 2: morning good, I'm sure. And I did an interview on
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  Speaker 2: a China meeting, a big China meeting we had in
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  Speaker 2: this country earlier on this year. Was that a different one?
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  Speaker 2: And we just have a lot of New Zealand China
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  Speaker 2: meetings going on.
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  Speaker 3: Oh look, come there are a few. I'd argue ours
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  Speaker 3: there's the biggest invest and kind of as you've said,
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  Speaker 3: the one with long chevity seeing this year is navigating
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  Speaker 3: the crisis. And look, I would just argue China is
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  Speaker 3: probably more relevant today than it has been any time
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  Speaker 3: since we signed the FTA. And I say that, look
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  Speaker 3: two or three reasons. I think obviously that's a reflection
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  Speaker 3: on Trump as tariffs is war just the climate of
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  Speaker 3: uncertainty there, China's positioned itself and contrasts as that sure predictable,
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  Speaker 3: kind of reliable partner. I mean the Asian New Zealand
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  Speaker 3: Foundation report out relatively recently, more New Zealanders than anytime
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  Speaker 3: in the last decade they actually see China as more
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  Speaker 3: of a friend than America. App So, you know that
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  Speaker 3: might be surprising to some, but that's kind of where
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  Speaker 3: we're at. As you said, the trade continues to grow,
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  Speaker 3: China kind of as the next China, And I think
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  Speaker 3: it's also as you also said, I mean, it's a
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  Speaker 3: tricky dance we do, right. I think the last couple
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  Speaker 3: of governments have navigated us closer to our traditional security partners,
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  Speaker 3: but they've also got to kind of remain on song
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  Speaker 3: with that very big commercial position we have.
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  Speaker 2: Exactly interesting you say, the friend thing the Lower Institute
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  Speaker 2: in Australia this week, big change in Australian seeing them
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  Speaker 2: as that they now see them as a partner, not
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  Speaker 2: a problem. And do you reckon that's just China or
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  Speaker 2: it's Trump. We're reacting to Trump and liking China more
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  Speaker 2: because of Trump.
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  Speaker 3: Oh look, I'm sure it is a very big factor.
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  Speaker 3: It's not the only factor. It is just that relative
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  Speaker 3: reflection on Trump. I mean I've always you know, I've
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  Speaker 3: had the view that Trump's neither as bad or as
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  Speaker 3: good as kind of those who love them or hate
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  Speaker 3: them say. But I mean think the reality isn't down
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  Speaker 3: this part of the world, you know, as I say,
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  Speaker 3: whether it's the terriffs, whether it's war in the Middle
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  Speaker 3: of East, Middle East, whether it's just a general style.
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  Speaker 3: I think that definitely means when people are looking at
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  Speaker 3: say China America, that there's just a number there that say,
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  Speaker 3: you know what, actually on that basis we go China
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  Speaker 3: over America.
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  Speaker 2: Yeah, interesting, isn't it. Once you get to the actual
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  Speaker 2: economic story, is there much to be discussed there because
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  Speaker 2: they've got problems and have problems for a very long
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  Speaker 2: period of time. Are there problems? Are problems economically or not?
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  Speaker 1: Oh?
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  Speaker 3: Yes, of course, I mean I will drill into that.
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  Speaker 3: I mean the problem that it's hard to and you know,
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  Speaker 3: we've got chief economists for A and Z out of
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  Speaker 3: Greater China, We've got a bunch of other economic luminaries.
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  Speaker 3: And again some will say, look it's terrible, some will
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  Speaker 3: say it's amazing. There's nothing to see that. I think
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  Speaker 3: what is true is, you know, by talking to a
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  Speaker 3: Fonterra guy last night, and those numbers just continue to grow, right,
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  Speaker 3: And then on the other side of it, you'd almost
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  Speaker 3: say they couldn't have planned it better. Right, We've had
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  Speaker 3: an energy and fuel crisis out of the Middle East.
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  Speaker 3: What are China's big strength for? They do, all the
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  Speaker 3: soul that they do, all the green and clean tech
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  Speaker 3: they do. The EV's the cheapest and probably arguably the
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  Speaker 3: best at the moment. So you know, I still think
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  Speaker 3: it's got legs commercially, whatever kind of anyone says, and
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  Speaker 3: whatever the geopolitics and the security stuff means.
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  Speaker 2: All right, you have a good day and I appreciate it.
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  Speaker 2: Simon Bridges, who's the summit coach here on that one today.
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  Speaker 2: The reason they ask about the economy, you're well aware
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  Speaker 2: of the economy of course, driven in part anyway by housing.
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  Speaker 2: But the six eighteen shopping festival is not gone well
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  Speaker 2: for them. It's a May thirteen to June eighteen thing.
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  Speaker 2: It's up a little bit, but it's nothing like it
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  Speaker 2: used to be. So that consumers spend and the problem
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  Speaker 2: is of course with geopolitics. He mentioned the TS, the solar.
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  Speaker 2: You know who's got more oil than anybody right now, China.
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  Speaker 2: They're choker block with the oil, and so you've got
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  Speaker 2: that sort of dynamic there as well. Do they want
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  Speaker 2: to help out the rest of the world or are
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  Speaker 2: they looking after themselves. That's what makes the relationship, I guess,
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  Speaker 2: so interesting.
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