New Zealand welcomes China's application to join the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), said the Ministry of Commerce on Thursday.

New Zealand Prime Minister Chris Hipkins recently made his first official visit to China. During the visit, the two countries issued the Joint Statement between the People's Republic of China and New Zealand on the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership, which reflected a series of consensus in the economic and trade fields, said Shu Jueting, the ministry's spokeswoman.

These included China and New Zealand welcoming the entry into force in 2022 of the Upgrade Protocol to the China-New Zealand Free Trade Agreement. Both sides commenced the process for negotiations on a "negative list" services framework later in 2023. The two sides noted their intention to strengthen bilateral trade and expand cooperation in areas such as e-commerce, trade in services, and the green economy. Regarding the Digital Economy Partnership Agreement (DEPA), New Zealand welcomes ongoing in-depth discussions in the Accession Working Group for China process, the spokesperson introduced.

China and New Zealand have highly complementary economies and deeply integrated interests, Shu said. The Chinese side is willing to work together with the New Zealand side to fully implement the important consensus reached by the two countries, continuously promote trade and investment liberalization and facilitation, and create new growth points for pragmatic cooperation, she added.