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New Zealand’s Christchurch to forge closer economic ties with Gansu
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CHRISTCHURCH, New Zealand’s second-biggest city which was devastated by a series of earthquakes in 2010 and 2011, wants to build on its existing relationship with Gansu Province by developing closer economic links.
Mayor Lianne Dalziel has been leading a 35-strong business delegation through parts of China for the past two-and-a-half weeks to help foster deeper commercial relationships in the world’s second-biggest economy and inform her city’s rebuild process, which is estimated to cost about NZ$40 billion.
Dalziel told Shanghai Daily today she has had a lot of interest expressed by parties keen on investing in the rebuild, and was optimistic about building a more commercial partnership with her counterparts in Gansu, which is set to benefit from the central government’s Silk Road Economic Development initiatives.
“The message we got very clearly from the Gansu governor was they are really open to extending that into the economic sphere,” Dalziel said. “We were just taken aback by the amount of investment in Gansu.”
The formal relationship between Christchurch and Gansu goes back to 1984, and has largely focused on cultural and education development.
The Christchurch delegation included a stopover in the Sichuan province to give Dalziel first-hand experience of that region’s experience in rebuilding after the 2008 earthquake.
“What they managed to do, managed to develop was sensitive and appropriate for the environment,” she said.
The mayor’s Chinese tour coincides with the release of a report commissioned by the Asia New Zealand Foundation which found the majority of New Zealanders see benefits accruing developing closer economic ties with Asia.
Still, the of the 1,000 people surveyed, there was a drop in support for foreign investment, with about 64 percent of respondents expecting positive results from Asian investment, down from 74 percent a year earlier.
New Zealand’s share of exports with Asia, and China in particular, has soared as growing middle classes in emerging economies develop an appetite for the country’s largely food-based products, and as a series of free trade agreements came on stream.
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