Thriving Through Win-Win Cooperation in Turbulent Times
--Keynote Address by Ambassador Wang Xiaolong at the 12th China Business Summit
June 25th, Auckland
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Dear Friends,
Kia ora!
To begin with, I wish to thank Fran, Simon, and your teams at NZ Inc. and the Auckland Business Chamber for your efforts and for the kind invitation to me, Counsel-General Chen, Counsel-General He and our team.
This is my fifth consecutive China Business Summit.
Over the past five years, the international landscape has evolved dramatically and profoundly. Amidst all this, China and New Zealand have made substantial progress both in our respective development and in our bilateral relationship.
Although the specific focus at each year’s Summit has varied, the underlying theme that draws us together, against that broad regional and global canvass, has been remarkably constant: to anchor certainty in the midst of change, and above all, to seek new and emerging opportunities going into the future.
It is now widely acknowledged that our world today is undergoing seismic and rapid transformations: technological breakthroughs are reshaping how we produce, how we live our lives, and how we organise our societies; the Global South is emerging as an increasingly consequential force in international affairs; and the shared principles long relied upon to sustain global peace and prosperity face mounting challenges.
Yet through all of this, China’s policy orientation — both domestic and foreign — has remained consistent: we are firmly committed to developing our economy and improving our people’s livelihood in a historical endeavour for national rejuvenation, and in that process, to ensuring that China’s development creates broader opportunities for the rest of the world to build a community of shared future for humanity.
With that in mind, I would like to share three observations with you today.
First, China’s economy will sustain steady growth, albeit with shifting engines and improving quality.
This year marks the opening of China’s 15th Five-Year Plan -- a blueprint that charts the course for high-quality development, meaning that China is no longer in a singular pursuit of high growth rates; rather, it will prioritize quality over quantity. During that process, innovation will serve as the key driver of economic growth, bringing about digital, AI, and green transitions to nurture new productive forces in emerging and future sectors.
Despite external headwinds, China remains committed to endogenous innovation in both the technological and industrial domains. According to the Five-Year Plan, China’s national R&D expenditure will continue to grow at no less than 7% per year, a continuation of past practices and trends for many years.
We are pressing ahead with developing critical core technologies to consolidate our industrial foundations and enhance resilience, while positioning ourselves strategically at the frontiers — in AI, quantum science, bio-manufacturing, brain-computer interfaces, 6G and space science and many others. China now holds approximately 60% of the world’s AI patents, and the core industries of the digital economy already account for over 10.5% of GDP.
More importantly, this innovation has moved well beyond the laboratory. It is already tangible productive capacity, deployed in factories, delivered to markets, and woven into daily life.
Nowadays, “Made in China” is becoming “Intelligently Made in China.” AI supports the production of the vast majority of automotive body-in-white components; AI-enabled fundus cameras complete the full clinical cycle — from image capture to diagnostic report — in less than three minutes, identifying over thirty eye conditions and flagging risks for more than ten systemic diseases. As the cost of tokens falls, intelligent agents are becoming practical everyday tools for millions of people. All that not only strengthens China’s industrial competitiveness but also opens new frontiers for international cooperation.
Notably, the green transition is equally central to high-quality growth, which is of particular urgency today. As the world’s largest clean energy market, China is generating a succession of transformative breakthroughs in new energy, EVs, environmental technology, and advanced energy storage, giving rise to new industries, models, and growth drivers.
China’s green tech and products are globally popular and increasingly so. The growing variety of Chinese brand EVs on New Zealand’s roads offers a vivid illustration, providing consumers here with alternative, economically compelling choices of value.
Second, China will remain committed to the path of peaceful development and common prosperity, while resolutely defending its sovereignty, security, and development interests.
It is obvious that the steady growth and development of China’s economy requires external peace and stability. Our commitment to peaceful development is not by coincidence — it is a consistent and firm strategic choice, rooted in the lessons of history, guided by the future trajectory of human society, and in line with China’s own national conditions.
On that basis, we seek constructive relations with all nations, on the basis of peaceful coexistence, mutual respect, and equality and mutual benefit. We are committed to advancing the four Global Initiatives proposed by President Xi Jinping, the Global Development Initiative, the Global Security Initiative, the Global Civilizations Initiative, and the Global Governance Initiative, to advance a community with a shared future for humanity. We are ready to work with all partners to uphold multilateralism without equivocation and address our common challenges.
At the same time, China will also firmly defend its core interests and safeguard its sovereignty, dignity, and territorial integrity. Chief among them is the Taiwan question — the core of our core interests.
There is only one China in the world, and Taiwan is an inalienable part of China’s territory. The one-China principle is a broad international consensus, a fundamental norm of international relations, and the political foundation of China’s diplomatic relations with other countries, including with New Zealand.
The people on both sides of the Strait share a common bloodline and an intertwined destiny; no one has a greater stake in peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait than we do. The Chinese mainland will continue to make our utmost effort in pursuing peaceful reunification. At the same time, we will not renounce any option that may be necessary to deter separatist forces and forestall any external interference.
China equally opposes any attempt to restrict or contain its right to development. We will not adopt a “self-first” approach, as some other countries have been doing lately, nor will we seek our advancement at the expense of others.
Our recent decision to extend zero-tariff treatment to all African countries having diplomatic ties with China is yet another case in point that speaks volumes about our commitment to delivering on the responsibility of a major country, to sharing the fruits of China’s development with the rest of the world, and to pursuing common prosperity through cooperation and mutual benefit.
The Third and final observation I'm going to make today is that China will continue to build a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership with New Zealand grounded in mutual respect and shared benefit, and we look to New Zealand as a friend and partner on the same path forward.
There are no historical grievances nor fundamental conflicts of interest between China and New Zealand. In the more than five decades since the establishment of diplomatic relations, the two sides, in the spirit of “striving to be the first,” have explored friendly cooperation in ways that have kept our relationship at the forefront of China’s ties with Western developed countries, delivering tangible benefits to both our peoples.
Looking back, the essence of our relationship is mutual benefit, with its foundation being mutual respect and mutual trust, with people-to-people links as an indispensable bond with practical cooperation being a powerful engine of progress, and the last but not the least, the constructive management of differences being a crucial guardrail.
Under the current circumstances, the shared interests and common ground between our two countries have only increased. China’s development represents an opportunity for New Zealand, not a threat. Our economies are highly complementary, and there is every reason for us to play a greater role in supporting each other’s efforts to achieve our respective development goals.
As the Chinese saying goes: “A boat sailing against the current must press forward, or will be swept back.” More importantly, while our relationship has come a long way, the potential for cooperation — in both traditional and emerging areas — remains far from fully realised. I look to those gathered here today, and to both our peoples, to help unlock that potential together. Looking into the future, the prospects for China-New Zealand cooperation are broad, and full of promise.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
The more turbulent our times, the more precious a partnership built on trust. The more uncertain the road ahead, the more imperative for cooperation and shared prosperity to become our common path of choice.
No matter how the international landscape may evolve, China’s commitment to the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership with New Zealand is clear and firm, as is the dedication to the friendship between our two peoples. Let us work together to anchor greater stability and certainty in this era of profound change with our mutually beneficial and solid relationship, and to open a brighter future for our nations and for the world.
Thank you!