Increasing NZ's representation in China was one of the key recommendations of the Govt's inquiry into the botulism scare last August. Photo / Getty Images
New Zealand and China are set to sign off on increasing the goal for two-way trade to reach $30 billion by 2020 at a meeting between Prime Minister John Key and China's President Xi Jinping tonight.
And New Zealand is set to boost staff numbers in China and build a
new embassy at an estimated $40 million. The announcement was due to be made following the meeting between the two leaders at about 10.30pm tonight, but the press release was sent out early.
Increasing New Zealand's representation in China was one of the key recommendations of the Government's inquiry into the botulism scare last August, aimed at ensuring it could respond to problems better.
The new goal is up from the target of $20 billion by 2015 — a goal set to be exceeded after trade figures came in at $18.2 billion last year and hit record highs in January.
Mr Key has told local media that the new goal was very realistic and based in conservative modelling. Trade since the FTA had more than doubled and China's growing middle class was pushing it higher.
