On January 10th, His Excellency Dr. Wang Xiaolong, new Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the People's Republic of China to New Zealand, the Cook Islands and Niue, arrived in Wellington. Lisa White, Acting Chief of Protocol of the New Zealand Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade, received Ambassador Wang at the airport.

Ambassador Wang stated that he was pleased and honored to have been appointed as the 14th Ambassador of China to New Zealand as the two countries prepare to mark the 50th anniversary of the establishment of the diplomatic ties. With joint efforts of both sides over the past half a century, China-NZ relations have been flourishing like silver fern trees. The two countries have worked together to create many "firsts" in bilateral cooperation to the benefit of the two countries and the two peoples, contributing in that process to promoting regional and global cooperation. China attaches great importance to the development of China-New Zealand relations and would like to work with New Zealand to implement the consensus reached by the leaders of the two countries, promote the healthy and stable development of the China-New Zealand Comprehensive Strategic Partnership, by way of enhancing communications and deepening practical cooperation. Ambassador Wang pledged to make unremitting efforts for this purpose. 

Ambassador Wang says that China is a good friend and a good partner for the Cook Islands and Niue. China highly values the relations with the Cook Islands and Niue and would like to work with the two countries to enhance political trust, expand practical cooperation, and consolidate the people-to-people friendship, and thereby deepen the comprehensive strategic partnership with them featuring mutual respect and common development.

Ambassador Wang Xiaolong also took the opportunity to express thanks to the Kiwis of various circles and the Chinese communities for their efforts to promote the China-New Zealand relations, indicating that the Embassy will serve as a bridge of friendship and cooperation and deliver quality services as always.