The rise of vertical, social, e-commerce platforms in China
China’s online retail market has seen explosive growth in the last few years and is now one of the world’s largest. By 2020, AliResearch expects China’s online retail market to exceed 10.4 trillion yuan (around NZ$2.1 trillion) in sales. This is a huge increase from 2015 when China's online retail market was...
Milk taste competition expected to increase demand in China
A unique Milk Taste Competition is expected to increase demand from Chinese consumers for New Zealand produced fresh UHT milk. Initiated by Milk New Zealand, ‘The First Milk Taste Competition’ was held in Canterbury to demonstrate to Chinese consumers that there is variability in the taste, smell and colour of...
Doing business in China - about relationships and subtleties
New Zealand company director Annie Govan says two things are absolutely essential to doing business in China – building relationships and understanding the many subtleties that come with the Chinese culture. Actively involved in several business streams with China, a few years ago she and husband Bert Govan founded...
A Place for New Zealand on China’s New Silk Road?
Chinese president Xi Jinping’s administration has put forward a new vision of regional development and has delivered an open invitation for countries like New Zealand to participate. Victoria University senior lecturer in political science and international relations Jason Young examines how this proposal should be...
Chinese executives to learn about Māori business style
Chinese executives will be sent out on a waka as part of a new course about Māori approaches to leadership and business. The pathbreaking “Māori /Chinese Culture Management Course – Wayfinding Leadership” promises to equip Chinese executives to engage with Māori businesspeople. It will cover Māori...
Murray McCully: Speech to NZIIA Annual Conference
Keynote address to New Zealand Institute of International Affairs (NZIIA) Annual Conference, Wellington, NZ. Ladies and Gentlemen, In my eight years as serving as Foreign Minister I can’t think of a more interesting time to be addressing this group. We are entering period of global uncertainty on a number of...
Early observations from a rookie ex-pat
Growing up in the 90's meant China loomed large. New Zealand was winding down its reliance on the United Kingdom and transforming itself from a Commonwealth bread basket into a much more well-rounded global player, with ever-increasing connections to East Asia and beyond.At the same time, China was in the thick of its...
A snapshot of Shanghai’s Science & Innovation ...
The New Zealand Consulate in Shanghai has recently released a snapshot of Shanghai’s S&I reforms and potential opportunities for NZ. This report introduces Shanghai’s place in China’s bigger picture of economic reforms as well as its future role in becoming a science and innovation hub. The report...
Chinese film chiefs talk business, cooperation in New Zealand
Senior Chinese film executives have met with some of Hollywood's leading movers and New Zealand leaders in discussions about stepping up collaborations in New Zealand Arts, Culture and Heritage. A five-member delegation from the China Film Group Corporation (CFGC) recently met with Maggie Barry, Prime Minister John Key and...
Chinese investors step up to New Zealand hotel challenge
Chinese investment in New Zealand's tourism sector is ticking up as China continues to be New Zealand's fastest growing visitor market, Economic Development Minister Steven Joyce said. New Zealand had also seen a lot of interest from Asian companies in general in its bid to build an extra 26 hotels over the next 10 years to...
Are the days of wine & honey in China about to buzz off?
Unlike the early rumours that suggested that things were about to become tougher for China's infant formula industry, this time we’ve been told. Regulatory changes for wine and honey are on the way. It’s only the 'what, when and how' that we don’t know. But for those who bear the scars of the new infant...
From Silicon Valley to Silicon Dragon
In previous articles, I have written about China’s rapid transition from a culture of ‘copying and low cost manufacturing’, to one of ‘innovation and commercialisation’. Recent developments in high-tech, fintech and e-commerce have positioned China at the forefront of innovation in Asia and is...