Wen, Clark bond with promise of more 'firsts'

Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao got up at dawn yesterday to get a bird's-eye view of Wellington from the Botanical Gardens before descending to give Beijing's view of New Zealand.

That view, delivered by one of the world's most powerful politicians, took Prime Minister Helen Clark and her senior ministers by surprise when they met hours later.

Wen quickly made clear that China had taken a strategic decision to strengthen relations with the small, creative country he calls an "island".

Beijing wished to elevate the bilateral free-trade talks to vice-ministerial level, lift the pace and set a deadline so that a deal could be completed in one to two years - if not within one year.

Instead of having to fence delicately around some major sticking points before moving on to security issues such as North Korea, the talks barely got further than economic matters where they moved far beyond the formal agenda.

For Helen Clark, this is a major triumph. The China-New Zealand relationship is punctuated by "firsts".

Mr Wen yesterday said New Zealand was the first country to strike an agreement with China for it to gain access to the World Trade Organisation; the first country to recognise China as a full market economy; and the first developed country to open negotiations with China on a free trade agreement (FTA).

These firsts are all milestones in New Zealand's pursuit of a strong relationship with a country destined to be the major economic powerhouse of the 21st century.

Until now New Zealand has basically been another supplicant seeking to gain advantage with the Middle Kingdom.

The upside has essentially been on China's side as it leveraged the concessions given to it by New Zealand to extract advantage from bigger countries.

Things changed yesterday with Mr Wen's open acknowledgment that China now wanted to achieve more firsts - maybe even five or six with New Zealand - starting with a deal which would enable Helen Clark to boast the first FTA that China has done with a Western developed nation.

This was music to the Prime Minister's ears. In another first, she will also have a fully fledged annual bilateral meeting with China's leadership. Now, she has only one major bilateral meeting a year, with Australian Prime Minister John Howard.

Unlike the Clark-Howard meeting, Helen Clark's annual bilateral with China's leadership will sometimes take place on the outskirts of regional forums, such as the Apec leaders' meeting, or the East Asian Summit and sometimes in either Beijing or Wellington. Some meetings will be with President Hu Jintao, some with Mr Wen.

Even a group of protesting Falun Gong members could not tarnish this visit. Mr Wen confronted the human rights issues head-on and even shook the hand of his questioner - IRN political editor Barry Soper.

It was clear from their body language that Helen Clark and Mr Wen are comfortable with each other. It is the fourth time they have met in 16 months.

Last night Helen Clark was preparing to host a dinner for Mr Wen and his top ministers at Premier House.