Sourcing from the world’s factory: Our import relationship with China

China is New Zealand’s largest source of imports, whether ready for consumption under NZ or increasingly well-known Chinese brands, or providing materials and components for our domestic manufacturing outputs.

Does this leave us exposed – are there particular products from China we can’t do without, and what would happen if supply was interrupted?  Should New Zealand be looking at diversification strategies?  And what are the exciting new opportunities that Chinese imports offer to our economy?

In June 2024, we commissioned Sense Partners to research the scale and profile of New Zealand’s imports from China. This podcast is a recording of the report launch webinar on 26 June.  Tune in to listen to the report author’s summary of key findings and an industry experts’ discussion, co-hosted with the North Asia Centre of Asia-Pacific Excellence.

Timestamps

05:35	What are the key findings of our report?  Report author’s summary
13:30	What was a surprise?
16:25	Importer case study – The Warehouse Group
23:00	The elephant in the room – should NZ diversify?
27:40	Ethical sourcing from China
31:20	Can we guard against future supply chain shocks – and how?
41:15	Are other countries likely to move in on China’s manufacturing dominance?
42:30	Could China ‘choke’ us of critical imports?