Tourists enjoy themselves in Wanaka, New Zealand, Sept. 29, 2023. New Zealand witnesses an influx of Chinese tourists during this year's Mid-Autumn Festival and National Day holiday period. (Xinhua/Guo Lei)

More than 20 companies from China and New Zealand have reached intent of cooperation and signed agreements at the just-concluded 1st New Zealand-China Commodity Fair, the Global Times learned, with the value of intended cooperation agreements exceeding 450 million yuan ($63 million). 

A Chinese business chamber representative told the Global Times on Tuesday that the active engagement of companies from both sides underscored the great resilience of the Chinese economy and the prodigious business opportunities in South Pacific markets, including New Zealand. He expects that China and New Zealand will deepen cooperation in digital economy, agriculture trade and green energy next year under the promotion of Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP). 

Over 200 enterprises from China and New Zealand participated in the fair, bringing a total of 15,000 commodities, and deals valuing 5 million New Zealand dollars had been signed on-site, according to a statement the Guangdong Economic and Trade Representative Office in New Zealand sent to the Global Times on Tuesday. The office co-hosted the fair. 

Wang Jiazheng, chief representative of the office, told the Global Times on Tuesday that agreements on intent of cooperation cover a wide range of areas including food processing, bulk commodity, agriculture, healthcare and home furnishing. 

"It shed light on the steady growth of bilateral trade volume between China and New Zealand," Wang said. He added that, looking forward, the two countries will further strengthen economic cooperation in both the regional and global spheres. 

The three-day expo, held in Auckland, was concluded on December 16. It was the first national level comprehensive expo held in New Zealand that China was the guest country. According to Wang, it is expected that the expo will serve as "a window, a communication platform and a bridge" to promote the further development of China-New Zealand trade.

Trade between China and New Zealand hit over 40 billion New Zealand dollars in 2022. Business representatives expect bilateral trade volume to surpass 50 billion New Zealand dollars in 2030, according to media reports.