Chinese President Hu Jintao said on Friday the free trade agreement (FTA) talks between China and New Zealand are of historic significance to bilateral ties and he expressed the hope the talks would be concluded at an early date.

Hu made the remarks during a meeting with New Zealand Prime Minister Helen Clark, in Sydney on the sidelines of the Economic Leaders' Meeting of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum, scheduled for September 8-9.

The FTA talks between China and New Zealand have played a positive role in pushing forward bilateral cooperation, Hu said. He hoped the two sides, in the spirit of mutual understanding and mutual accommodation, will continue to work to strive for an early conclusion of the talks.