Trade minister not expecting retaliation from China
AUCKLAND: Days after New Zealand joined its Western allies in firing a warning shot across China’s bows, Trade Minister Damien O’Connor says security and trade are separate issues.
At a trade policy roadshow in Auckland yesterday, Mr O’Connor said he did not expect any retaliation after the Government’s criticism of Chinese statesponsored cyber attacks.
He said the Government was working on trade agreements so businesses could have more options.
However, New Zealand Europe Business Council president Frank Olsson was among businessmen concerned about the political side of trading with China.
‘‘It seems that the gap is opening up there between what the politicians want and what the businesses want,’’ he said.
That was not an issue for Chineseowned diary company Yashili New Zealand, which exports 70% of its products to China.
Commercial manager Amanda Zhu said there had been a long and good relationship and it was unaware of any issues.
‘‘I’m not really worried about that.’’ Mr O’Connor did not think the criticism was cause for concern about the trading relationship with China.
‘‘This is a security issue. It’s not a trade issue,’’ he said.
‘‘We have no reason to believe that there should be any reaction.’’
New Zealand would continue to have healthy trade connections with China, which was ‘‘a significant trading partner’’, but the Government was exploring other trade opportunities.
These included working alongside the traditional markets of the European Union, the United Kingdom, the United States and Australia, as well as with China and East Asia.
‘‘If you’re a small business, a big business or your country, and you have a huge reliance on any one market, then that exposes you and that’s why we’re building trade agreements and trade connections with a whole range of markets, so our exporters and importers can have a range of options.’’