推动互利合作再出发 ——王小龙大使在Vision2024活动上的致辞
尊敬的祁军会长，
陆楠议员，
布朗市长，
麦康年大使，
布里吉斯首席执行官，
女士们、先生们、朋友们：
很高兴再次参加“愿景”活动，与各位新老朋友共话经贸合作。“愿景”活动已经成为中新务实合作的一张亮丽名片，得到了新西兰各界高度关注。对此，我要向主办方新西兰中国商会表示祝贺，并对长期关心支持中国与新西兰贸易投资合作的朋友们表示诚挚问候和衷心感谢！
今天我想先从中国经济谈起。2023年是中国遭遇三年疫情冲击后经济恢复的第一年。面对复杂外部环境，中国坚定推进改革开放，稳增长政策措施持续发力，经济运行保持恢复向好态势，积极因素持续增多，我愿就此与大家分享一些数据：
中国经济已进入趋势性恢复的轨道。前三季度增长5.2%，明显快于去年全年3%的增速，也快于疫情3年平均4.5%的增速。这一增速在主要经济体中保持领先。这样的亮眼成绩，是在世界经济复苏乏力的背景下，是在中国经济大体量、高基数的情况下实现的，来之不易。
消费重新成为拉动经济增长的“主动力”。一系列扩内需促消费政策举措落地见效，消费加快回暖。前三季度最终消费支出对经济增长贡献率达83.2%，内需对经济增长贡献率提升至113%。10月份，社会消费品零售总额同比增长7.6%，比上月增速快2.1个百分点。
科技创新持续赋能高质量发展，新动能茁壮成长。前10月，高技术产业投资同比增长11.1%，快于全部投资8.2个百分点；中国新能源汽车产销量分别同比增长33.9%和37.8%。10月份，装备制造业增加值同比增长6.2%，连续3个月回升；太阳能电池、服务机器人、集成电路产品产量同比分别增长62.8%、59.1%、34.5%。
展望未来，下一个“中国”还是中国。近期，世界银行、国际货币基金组织、经合组织等机构纷纷将今年中国经济增长预期上调至5%以上。作为一个经济总量超过120万亿元的世界第二大经济体来说，5%左右的经济增速相当于一年增长一个中等发达经济体。国际机构投下这些“信任票”表明，中国经济仍然是世界经济的重要引擎。
今年是中国改革开放45周年，正如李强总理所指出的，下一步推进中国式现代化，在实现第二个百年奋斗目标的历史过程当中，我们还必须吃改革饭，走开放路。近期，中国持续深化改革开放的决心正在不断落地成为有力行动，例如进一步优化外商投资环境24条出台，全面清理内外资不合理差别待遇法规，全面取消制造业领域外资准入限制措施，试点对接国际高标准经贸规则等等。作为世界第二大经济体，中国的高质量发展离不开高水平对外开放，而持续不断扩大开放的中国也必将为包括新西兰在内的世界各国带来更多发展机遇。
中新建交50多年来，互利共赢始终是双边关系的主旋律，贸易无疑是这其中最积极、最活跃的推动力量。尽管受到全球大宗商品价格低迷、市场竞争加剧、消费者偏好变化等外部因素影响，中新双边贸易仍展现强大韧性，中国继续保持新西兰第一大贸易伙伴、出口市场和进口来源地的地位。近段时间，中新双边贸易又出现了许多积极迹象，例如新西兰原木出口价格在中国需求带动下企稳回升，全球乳制品价格指数持续上涨，佳沛在中国销量大涨并预计2024年向大中华区供货量增加40%，这些都表明中国市场对新西兰企业仍是一片沃土。
投资是中新互利共赢关系的另一大支柱。在两国政府和工商界的共同努力下，中新双向投资总体保持稳定，涌现了大批成功案例。新西兰恒天然、佳沛等企业以及Zuru、莱美等近些年进军中国的“新玩家”，努力开拓中国市场，获得了丰厚回报，也凸显了中新经贸合作的潜力。海尔、伊利、中旅、建行、工行、中行等中资企业在新西兰市场扎根多年，积极履行社会责任，也为新西兰创造了大量就业，赢得了良好的口碑。为了帮助各位企业家更好了解中国和新西兰两国的投资环境和政策，新西兰中国商会精心编撰了《投资中国》《投资新西兰》两份手册，欢迎大家都去读一读，肯定会有所收获。
中新贸易投资合作取得了长足进步，也有进一步发展的空间。借此机会，我也想对两国工商界人士提几个建议：
我的第一个建议是：放眼长远。中国具有超大规模市场的需求优势、产业体系配套完整的供给优势、大量高素质劳动者和企业家的人才优势，经济发展具备强劲的内生动力、韧性、潜力，长期向好的基本面没有变也不会变。我们尊重新西兰关于贸易“多元化”的讨论，中国也希望广泛地开拓国际市场，但一个国家贸易格局的形成，主要靠企业和消费者根据市场原则作出选择。如果通过非市场行为弱化与中国这个全球第二大经济体、全球最大消费市场的联系，或听任我们之间的经贸联系受到非经济因素甚至一些无端的指责的干扰，不但不会增强整体经济和供应链韧性，相反只会使其变得更加脆弱，本身就是巨大、甚至是最大的风险。
我的第二个建议是：保持优势。中国农业部预测，未来十年中国农产品消费结构将向优质化、营养化转变，牛羊肉、乳制品、水果、海鲜等消费将持续增加，进口规模扩大，而这些产品恰恰是新西兰出口的拳头产品，在中国的市场备受欢迎。新西兰是第一个和中国签署双边自贸协定的西方发达国家，这给新西兰带来了重要的先发优势。多年来，新西兰企业深耕中国市场，塑造了良好的品牌形象。只要悉心呵护并且明智地运用这些优势，特别是国家品牌形象这一宝贵财富，我相信各位企业肯定能继续扩大在中国市场的份额，实现长足发展。
我的第三个建议：深化合作。几周前，新西兰新一届政府成功组阁，重振经济和降低生活成本是核心工作，在这方面中国企业有能力成为新西兰的合作伙伴。我在新西兰工作之余，经常会到本地商场超市里转一转，我注意到货架上的许多商品，无论是家居用品、家用电器、电子产品、服装还是家具，很大一部分都是“中国制造”。在生活成本危机困扰着新西兰民众时，中国质优价廉的商品已经为缓解本地物价上涨压力提供了非常重要的帮助。
新西兰和中国国情与禀赋不同， 但两国经济结构高度互补，为双方进一步加强合作提供了广阔空间。比如，解决基础设施赤字、提高基础设施韧性是新西兰的优先政策方向，中国企业在这些领域具有丰富的经验、资金和能力。再比如可再生能源方面，中国供应了全球50%的风电和80%的光伏设备，今年前三季度电动汽车、锂离子蓄电池、太阳能电池等“新三样”产品合计出口同比增长41.7%。我相信中国企业可以为新西兰经济社会发展做出更大贡献，同时也希望新西兰方面为中国企业进入新西兰市场创造开放、公平、公正、非歧视的环境。
朋友们，
回顾中新关系过去50年的发展，中国和新西兰虽远隔重洋，社会制度、发展阶段、自然禀赋、经济体量不同，但差异并未影响双方的合作。两国一直在妥处分歧、相互尊重的基础上深化拓展互利合作，两国人民从中获得巨大收益。这是中新携手同行50年最重要的经验，也是走向更美好未来的最有力保障。对中方来讲，无论国际形势和两国国内各自发生何种变化，中方都愿与新方各界共同努力，推动双边关系继续健康稳定发展，做大共同利益蛋糕。明年，中新两国将迎来建立全面战略伙伴关系十周年，我们愿以此为契机，与新方共同推动贸易、投资等领域互利合作再出发，更好造福两国人民。
最后，祝今天的活动取得圆满成功。
谢谢大家！
Renew Our Shared Commitment to Advancing Mutually Beneficial Cooperation
---Remarks by HE Ambassador Wang Xiaolong at Vision 2024
Mr. Qi Jun,
MP Nancy Lu,
Mayor Brown,
Ambassador McKinnon,
Mr. Bridges,
Distinguished guests,
Ladies and gentlemen,
It gives me great pleasure to join so many old and new friends here at Vision 2024 and discuss our future cooperation. This end-of-year gala has become a signature event for China-NZ practical cooperation and attracted attention here in this country. I wish to offer my congratulations to the host, CCCNZ, and acknowledge all the friends who have been supportive of China’s trade and investment cooperation with New Zealand.
If you allow me, I would like to start with the state of the Chinese economy. After a challenging three-year combat against Covid-19, China headed into 2023 with a sharp focus on the country’s economic recovery. Despite a complicated external environment and some downward pressure internally, China’s economy has maintained a positive trend, thanks to its continuous efforts to reform and open up, together with a series of supporting policies. Let me share with you some facts and figures:
There is increasing evidence that the country is on track for a steady recovery with growing momentum. In the first three quarters of the year, China’s GDP grew 5.2% year on year, visibly faster than the 3% last year, higher than the average annual growth rate of 4.5% over the three years during Covid-19, and faster than most other major economies. Given the country’s huge scale and a weak global economy, such impressive growth has not come easily.
A bright spot is consumption, which once again leads the country’s growth. As policy measures to expand demand and boost consumption take effect, China’s consumer market has rebounded well. The contribution rate of consumption to economic growth reached 83.2% in the first three quarters, and that of domestic demand reached 113%. Retail sales grew by 7.6% on a yearly basis in October, 2.1 percentage point faster as compared with last month.
In addition, China’s pursuit of high-quality development is increasingly powered by new, innovation-based drivers. Investment in high-tech industries jumped 11.1% in the first 10 months, 8.2 percentage points higher than that of investment in total. The production and sales of China’s new energy vehicles saw a yearly increase of 33.9% and 37.8% respectively. In October, equipment production output grew by 6.2%, extending gains for a third consecutive month. The output of solar cells, service robots, integrated circuits, expanded 62.8%, 59.1%, 34.5%, respectively.
Looking ahead, the “next China”is still in China. International organizations including the World Bank, IMF and OECD, have recently lifted forecast for China’s growth in 2023 to 5% or above. At around 5%, given its 120-trillion-RMB size, China will still add each year to its GDP a medium-sized developed economy. These projections are a vote of confidence in China continuing as a major engine powering global growth.
As Premier Li Qiang has put it when he notes that this year marks the 45th anniversary of China’s reform and opening up, China will continue firmly down this path in the historical process of advancing the country’s modernization and realizing the second centenary goal. And we are translating this strong commitment into actions.
One such example is the 24-point guide issued earlier in the year for attracting foreign investment, repealing discriminatory policies nationwide impacting foreign companies, removing all restrictions on foreign investment in the domestic manufacturing sector, and piloting a slew of high-standard international economic rules in free-trade zones.
As China pursues high quality development, it’s door will only open up even wider and in that process, continues to generate immense opportunities for the world including New Zealand.
Win-win cooperation is a defining feature of China-New Zealand relationship over the past 50 years, with bilateral trade as its most dynamic component. Defying external factors like commodities slump, fiercer competition, and shifting consumer preferences, China-New Zealand trade has exuded remarkable resilience, and China remains New Zealand’s largest trading partner, exporting destination and importing source.
More recently, our bilateral trade has further looked up on a number of indicators. For example, both New Zealand log price and GDT price index have gone up due to Chinese demand. Zespri is looking to sell 40% more kiwifruit to China next year, and this will come on top of the Chinese market having been a bright spot for the company this year. All these point to continued vibrancy of the Chinese market for NZ businesses.
Another pillar of our win-win relationship is investment. With joint efforts of both sides, two-way investment between China and New Zealand has held up and seen many success stories.
New Zealand giants, like Fonterra and Zespri, as well as new comers like Zuru and Les Mills, have delivered great returns from the Chinese market, and they showcase the potential of bilateral investment cooperation. On China’s part, companies like Haier, Yili, China Travel Service, CCB, ICBC, BOC, are well established and well recognized on the NZ market, contributing to the local economy, creating jobs while being good corporate citizens by fulfilling their social responsibilities.
I am glad to note that CCCNZ has compiled two handbooks, one on Investing in NZ and the other on Investing in China, to help businesses better understand the investment and business environment in China and New Zealand respectively. I trust both will make a good read.
We have indeed come a long way. There is room, however, for further growth for our bilateral trade and investment cooperation. In this respect, I wish to suggest the following:
First, think long term. China enjoys distinct strengths such as a super-sized market in terms of demand, a full-fledged industrial system in terms of supply, and an abundant, high-caliber labor force and an entrepreneurial business community in terms of human resources. All these add to the endogenous resilience and growth potential in China, with robust and stable long-term fundamentals.
I note that there is a narrative to diversify New Zealand’s trade profile. While I can fathom and even respect the arguments behind it, given that all countries, including China, would like to tap into as many markets as possible across the world, it is important to recognize that a country follows a specific trade pattern for a reason, as a result of selections over time by businesses and consumers on the basis of market principles.
To delink through non-market behaviors from the China, the second biggest economy and arguably the biggest consumer market in the world, or allowing non-economic factors or even groundless allegations to get in the way of normal economic relations will not make an economy or its supply chains more secure or resilient. In fact, they will only become more fragile as a result, as such moves themselves constitute major or even the biggest risks.
Second, play to your strengths. According to China’s Ministry of Agricultural and Rural Affairs, in the next decade, China’s consumption of agricultural products is expected to grow, with a significant increase in demand for high-value and high-nutrition products. For the sectors that are New Zealand’s forte - beef and sheep meat, dairy, fruit and seafood, the projected growth in consumption will drive an increase in imports.
As the first western developed country that entered into a bilateral FTA with China, New Zealand has important first-mover advantage. Over the years, New Zealand businesses have taken deep roots and worked to build up a reputation on the Chinese market. I am confident that they will continue to do well by carefully protecting and wisely using their advantages, including in particular the national branding as a valuable asset.
Last but not least, expand and at the same time, deepen our cooperation. The new National-led coalition government is focused on rebuilding the economy and bringing down people’s cost of living. On many of the economic priorities for the new government, as I have affirmed on several occasions, China could be a willing and able partner.
One of my pastimes over weekends in Wellington is window-shopping to investigate the countries of origin and pricing of merchandise in local stores. As I have found, a significant portion of those indispensable for people’s daily life, be it homeware, home appliances, electronics, clothing or furniture, is sourced from China. I would suppose that quality products made, assembled or produced in China at affordable prices have played and will continue to play a major role in keeping a lid on the cost of living for Kiwis.
Different in circumstances and endowments, NZ and China are highly complementary in economic structure, which provides huge rooms for mutually beneficial cooperation. For example, the new coalition government is committed to fixing infrastructure deficits, which is an area where China has experience, capital and capabilities.
Likewise, in the field of renewable energy, China accounts for 50% and 80% respectively of global supplies for wind and solar power generation capacity. In the first three quarters of this year, China’s aggregate export of new energy vehicles, lithium-ion batteries and photovoltaic products, which have come to be known as the new trifecta of leading export products, soared by 41.7% on a yearly basis.
Chinese companies and investors are willing and able to make greater contributions to the economic and social development of New Zealand. I hope and trust that the New Zealand side will in turn create an open, fair, just and non-discriminatory environment for them to enter into and operate on the New Zealand market.
Friends,
When you look at the China-New Zealand relationship over the past five decades, neither the geographical distance nor the differences between our two countries in size, natural endowment, stage of development and social system have prevented us from working together to forge one of the strongest partnerships between China and any western developed country, thanks to joint efforts on both sides to manage our relationship on the basis of mutual respect, seeking common ground while shelving differences, and mutual benefit and win-win cooperation. This approach has underpinned our progress so far, and if adhered to by both sides, will power the relationship into an even brighter future.
For China, no matter how the international and our respective domestic situations evolve, we remain committed to working with New Zealand to pursue the sound and stable growth of our relations, and make the pie of common interests bigger.
Next year we will mark the 10th anniversary of the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership between our two countries. Our two sides could use this opportunity to renew our shared commitment to mutually beneficial cooperation to bring greater benefits to the two peoples.
With that, I wish to conclude my remarks and wish today’s event a full success.
Thank you.
