China Council raises the bar at 2018 AGM

The New Zealand China Council held its 2018 Annual General Meeting in Auckland last week.

Led by Chairman Sir Don McKinnon, the AGM unanimously approved the Chairman’s report for the year ended 30 June 2018.  The report set the scene by noting the following:

“Despite some disturbing geopolitical developments in the last year, New Zealand’s relationship with China continues to show resilience and strength, especially in expanding trade, tourism, education and people-to-people links… … at times, the unedifying debate about the extent of foreign influence in New Zealand risks unfairly targeting New Zealanders of Chinese descent, but has not detracted from the value which the relationship with China delivers in terms of cultural diversity, wealth creation and jobs.”

Three reports produced by the Council this year were presented to attendees before the AGM.  These covered New Zealand’s participation in China’s Belt and Road Initiative, perceptions of China among the New Zealand public and the challenges faced by schools in increasing the number of qualified Chinese teachers.

Two guests speakers also addressed the AGM from Primary Collaboration New Zealand, Chairman Andy Borland and General Manager Kevin Parish, who introduced their business model in China and shared their recent challenges and successes.

All up, it was a constructive year of progress for the New Zealand China Council.  We look forward to another exciting year of building a strong and resilient relationship between our two countries.

Our Chairman’s report can be viewed here.