New Zealand Prime Minister Hopkins Talks about "Decoupling": Ultimately, We Need to "Look Outside" the World | Hopkins
The 14th Annual Meeting of New Leaders of the World Economic Forum, with the theme of "Entrepreneurial Spirit: Driving Forces of the World Economy," opened in Tianjin. On the morning of June 27th, the Prime Ministers of New Zealand, Barbados, and Vietnam, along with the Director General of the World Trade Organization, made a joint appearance at the "Facing Challenges: Restarting Growth in a Fragile Environment" event.
New Zealand and China are important partners in cooperation with each other. The China Singapore Free Trade Agreement signed in 2008 was the first free trade agreement signed between China and developed countries. Next year, the two countries will celebrate the 10th anniversary of the establishment of a comprehensive strategic partnership between China and Singapore. In this sub forum, New Zealand Prime Minister Hopkins is undoubtedly the most attended speaker.
Hopkins just took over as the Prime Minister of New Zealand from Aden in January of this year. This is his first visit to China since taking office and also the first visit of a New Zealand Prime Minister to China after the outbreak of the pandemic, which has attracted much attention. The New Zealand Herald website reported on June 26th that the multi departmental trade delegation led by Hopkins during his visit to China included some of New Zealand's largest companies. The report suggests that the high-level trade delegation reflects the New Zealand Prime Minister's emphasis on this visit, which is his "most important visit" since taking office.
"We still firmly believe in the multilateral international trade framework," Hopkins mentioned in his speech the process of New Zealand signing a free trade agreement with China. In response to the question from the host and President of the World Economic Forum, Brend, about "decoupling", Hopkins pointed out that in the current world facing common challenges, countries may tend to "look inward" in order to maintain their resilience, but ultimately, they still need to "look outward" and cooperate to address climate change. The issue of climate change will become increasingly prominent in the next 10 years and requires active global response. Therefore, "looking inward" is not in the long-term interest of any country.
![New Zealand Prime Minister Hopkins Talks about "Decoupling": Ultimately, We Need to "Look Outside" the World | Hopkins](https://a5qu.com/upload/images/e30de7fe39cdbc57d8a88fcdf770cc09.jpg)
Hopkins said that the development of science and technology has brought enormous opportunities, allowing people around the world and around the world to enjoy more and equal development opportunities, and driving global economic growth at a faster pace. Although geopolitical tensions such as China US relations and protectionism may hinder growth, he believes that the world as a whole remains open and forward-looking.
During this visit, Hopkins also demonstrated his affinity. He was shopping on Xiushui Street in Beijing and tasted kiwifruit exported from New Zealand to China at a supermarket in Tianjin after speaking on yesterday's forum. He commented that it was "as delicious as his hometown.".