李成钢大使在新西兰第六次贸易政策审议会议上的发言
Statement by Ambassador Li Chenggang at the Sixth Trade Policy Review of New Zealand
2022年6月1日
1 June 2022
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Thank you, Chair.
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I’d like to thank Ambassador Clare Kelly for leading the delegation of New Zealand to this trade policy review and appreciate the government of New Zealand for the preparation work. I would also like to express my gratitude to the Discussant, Ambassador Mr. Stephen Cornelius De Boer for his insightful comments and guiding questions. Many thanks also go to you, Chair, and the Secretariat for your valuable contribution to this Review.
中方赞赏新西兰在审议期间不断取得的发展成就。正如秘书处报告所述，尽管新冠肺炎疫情对新西兰货物和服务进出口产生了负面影响，新西兰经济仍取得了年均3.4%的增速。
Let me start by commending New Zealand for its continuing development achievements during the review period. As mentioned in the Secretariat report, the economy of New Zealand grew at an average annual rate of 3.4%, even with the negative impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on its exports and imports of goods and services.
中方欢迎新西兰政府在贸易和投资自由化领域所不断付出的努力。新方的“人人享有贸易”议程及简化外国投资体系的一系列改革措施令人印象深刻。显然，经济的开放性以及国际贸易对新西兰良好的经济表现具有重要支撑作用，这也充分说明，开放而不是保护主义、单边主义，才是走向繁荣的正确道路。
China welcomes the continuous efforts of the New Zealand government in trade and investment liberalization. The Trade for All agenda and a set of reforms to simplify its foreign investment regime are very impressive. Apparently, New Zealand’s economic openness and international trade contribution play important roles in supporting its economic performance. This might be the most vivid illustration that openness instead of protectionism or unilateralism is the right path leading to prosperity.
在多边尤其在世贸组织面临自成立以来最困难的形势下，中方高度赞赏新方对基于规则的多边贸易体制的坚定承诺和持续贡献。我们对新方在该组织中发挥的领导作用表示真诚的感谢，比如新方审议期内承担了总理事会主席、争端解决机构主席以及WTO疫情应对协调员等多项职责。
On the multilateral front, China highly commends the firm commitments and continuous contribution of New Zealand to the rules-based multilateral trading system, especially in the most difficult situation, when the WTO is facing the biggest existential challenges since its establishment. In this regard, we want to express our sincere thanks for New Zealand’s leading role in this organization. Among them, I just name a few, such as the GC Chair, the DSB Chair and the Facilitator of WTO response to the pandemic.
今年是中新建交50周年。半个世纪以来，新方在中国与发达国家的双边关系中创造了多项“第一”。新西兰是第一个与中国签署自贸协定的发达国家，双方见证了双边贸易关系的快速发展。2021年，两国经贸合作全面超越疫前水平，双边贸易额达247.2亿美元，同比增长36.4%。自2015年以来，中国连续成为新西兰第一大贸易伙伴，约占新方货物和服务出口总额的30%。
This year marks the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and New Zealand. Over the past half a century, New Zealand has been several “first” in China’s bilateral relationships with developed countries. It is the first developed country China signed the Free Trade Agreement with, and both sides witnessed the fast development in our bilateral trade relations. Bilateral economic and trade cooperation in 2021 exceeded pre-pandemic levels in all respects, with bilateral trade increasing by 36.4% year on year to USD24.72 billion. China continues to be New Zealand’s largest trading partner since 2015, accounting for nearly 30 percent of New Zealand’s total exports of goods and services.
2022年4月7日，中新自贸协定升级议定书正式生效，进一步扩大了双方市场开放，反映了现代经济和贸易发展的新趋势。中新自贸协定升级之后将为双方产品进口提供便利，降低出口商合规成本，促进解决一系列非关税壁垒问题，例如双方承诺易腐货物通关时间限定为6小时以内，并在放行前妥善储存。
On 7 April 2022, the Protocol on Upgrading the Free Trade Agreement between China and New Zealand came into effect. It further improves access to the Chinese market for New Zealand exporters and reflects the new trends in trade and business models between the two countries. New commitments made in the upgraded FTA further facilitate New Zealand’s exports to China and reduce compliance costs for New Zealand exporters. A range of non-tariff issues has been addressed, such as a six-hour limit on customs clearance of perishable goods and proper storage while pending release.
中方注意到新方为精简其外国投资审查体系进行了改革，同时也注意到新方扩大了高风险交易和敏感资产的范围，这在某种程度上会给投资收购等正常商业活动带来不确定性。因此，中方希望新方确保其外国投资审查体系继续保持透明、可预测和非歧视，增强投资者在新西兰开展投资业务的信心。
While recognizing that New Zealand launched a broad reform to simplify its foreign investment screening regime, we note that New Zealand has expanded the coverage of high-risk transactions and sensitive assets, which has in some way created uncertainties for normal business activities such as investment acquisition. We hope that New Zealand could ensure its foreign investment screening regime continues to be transparent, predictable, and non-discriminatory, so to give confidence to investors to invest in New Zealand.
最后，再次感谢新方对中方问题的书面答复，并祝愿本次贸易政策审议取得圆满成功。
Finally, we would like to once again thank the New Zealand delegation for their timely responses to our questions and wish this Review a complete success.
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Thank you Chair.