Chinese PM Li Qiang will travel to New Zealand for talks with government and business leaders next week, New Zealand Prime Minister Chris Luxon said on Monday.
Li will become the first Chinese premier to visit New Zealand since 2017, embarking on a diplomatic trip that is also expected to take him to Australia. Luxon said in a statement:
“I look forward to warmly welcoming Premier Li in New Zealand. The premier’s visit is a valuable opportunity for exchanges on areas of cooperation between New Zealand and China.”
Luxon said Li, who is China’s number two official, would arrive for a gala reception and formal dinner “later this week” and then hold a series of bilateral meetings. Li follows a number of senior Chinese delegates who have travelled to New Zealand in recent months.
Foreign Minister Wang Yi held high-level talks during a visit to the capital Wellington earlier this year.
China is New Zealand’s largest trading partner and Chinese consumers have long shown an appetite for the country’s meat, wine and milk. Wellington used to be one of Beijing’s closest partners among Western democracies.
But relations with it have soured in recent years as China seeks to expand its military and diplomatic influence in the Pacific.
