China 'satisfied' with development of relations with New Zealand: Assistant FM

BEIJING -- China is satisfied with the development of relations with New Zealand, which boasts many "firsts" between China and a developed country, Assistant Foreign Minister Zheng Zeguang said in Beijing on Thursday.

As an influential country in the Asia-Pacific region, New Zealand is the first developed country to ink and implement a free trade agreement with China, Zheng told reporters at a press briefing on Chinese President Xi's upcoming visit to Australia, New Zealand and Fiji as well as the participation of the G20 summit slated for Nov 15 to 23.

The development of bilateral relations have gained pace since the free trade agreement came into effect in 2008, said Zheng.

Official statistic show that China became New Zealand's number one trade partner in 2013. The trade volume between the two countries reached 20 billion New Zealand dollars ($15.7 billion) in 2014, a year ahead of schedule.

The two countries are marching towards a new goal of realizing trade volume of 30 billion New Zealand dollars ($23.6 billion) in 2020, Zheng said.

During his upcoming visit to New Zealand, Xi will meet New Zealand leaders, attend an inauguration ceremony of a China-New Zealand mayors' forum, and attend an exhibition on agricultural and animal husbandry technology, said Zheng.

The two sides will also sign several cooperation documents and business deals on climate change, TV, education, the South Pole, tourism, food safety, finance, forestry and others, he added.

It is because both countries take the fundamental interests into consideration, respect each other and promote tangible cooperation that allow the bilateral ties to reach such a high level, Zheng said.

"We believe that so long as the two countries continue to create new areas of growth, the bilateral ties can forge ahead along a healthy and stable track," said Zheng.