New Zealand Trade and Enterprise (NZTE) has opened its fifth office in China in Qingdao, Shandong Province.
NZTE’s chairman Jon Mayson says that NZTE’s Qingdao office will complement the agency’s four other offices in mainland China.
"The opening of this new office in Qingdao further demonstrates New Zealand's commitment to a closer and more collaborative relationship with China.
“New Zealand provides a range of high quality products and advanced technologies to China including Shandong Province. The addition of NZTE’s Qingdao office will further enhance NZ business capability in the region and provide a platform for further export growth.”
Vice Mayor of Qingdao Wu Jingjian, Mayson, NZTE Chief Executive Peter Chrisp and NZTE Group General Manager North Asia Rod MacKenzie attended the opening ceremony to mark its presence in this booming entrepot city in Northern China.
Mayson said, in a press release, besides providing tailored support for New Zealand businesses, NZTE will also be identifying specific opportunities in Shandong province in key sectors such as agritech, food and beverage, specialised manufacturing, ICT and education.
Qingdao is well known for its strengths in manufacturing, food processing and aquaculture related businesses and is becoming a fast growing centre for food and beverage, agritech and specialised manufacturing developments.
“The Qingdao district has many similar characteristics to New Zealand in terms of agriculture and food production, and NZTE sees significant potential for New Zealand companies here. We are committed to leveraging these similarities for the benefit of New Zealand companies and their Chinese business partners.
“China is vitally important to New Zealand’s economy. It is our second largest bilateral trading partner and our second largest export market for goods, worth more than $NZ4.2 billion in the year ending August 2010. In the last 10 years New Zealand’s exports to China have increased almost 200%, and the Free Trade Agreement which came into force in late 2008 has accelerated this."
Qingdao district is the fourth largest in China in terms of imports and exports. In 2009, the district imported $609 million worth of New Zealand goods and services, an increase of nearly 70% on the previous year.
It is the home of several Chinese corporate giants with well established brands such as Haier, Hisense and Tsingtao Beer.
A number of New Zealand companies have links to Qingdao including Beca, Scott Technologies and Teknatool.
The NZTE office in Qingdao is located at: Room 912, Crowne Plaza Qingdao, 76, Xiang Gang Zhong Road Qingdao, Shandong Province, P.R. China.