The Chinese economy and society have tremendous innovative vitality. Time gap | China | Economic and Social
"China's economy and society have tremendous innovative vitality. After visiting China again after four years, I deeply feel this." New Zealand China Relations Promotion Committee Chairman and former New Zealand Ambassador to China, MacConan, recently stated in an interview with our reporter that he looks forward to continuously deepening his understanding of China and is committed to promoting the development of New Zealand China relations.
The New Zealand China Relations Promotion Committee was established in 2012 and is a think tank of the New Zealand government. In May this year, Mai Kangnian led a delegation from the committee to visit Beijing, Shanghai, Shenzhen and other places to gain a deeper understanding of the development and changes in China's politics, economy, environment and other fields. He said, "China's development and progress are advancing rapidly, and it is difficult to truly understand China without witnessing these changes firsthand."
During the visit, China's new energy vehicles left a deep impression on McConnell. He believes that the increasing number of "green license plates" in Chinese cities and the prominent leading advantages in the new energy vehicle industry fully demonstrate China's high emphasis on green and low-carbon development.
"New energy vehicles are one of the symbols of China's innovative development." Mai Kangnian believes that a sound infrastructure and education system are the two major advantages of China's industrial development. On the one hand, advanced infrastructure greatly reduces the cost and time of transporting Chinese products from inland factories to ports; On the other hand, China has the world's largest higher education system, ensuring an adequate supply of local talents such as engineers and technicians.
Mai Kangnian said, "Through this trip to China, I truly feel that the Chinese economy has strong resilience, great potential, and abundant vitality." He gave an example of the rapid recovery of China's domestic tourism industry. During the May Day holiday alone, Shanghai received more than 15 million tourists, while driving the growth of consumption and related industries.
China and New Zealand are important partners of cooperation, and next year will celebrate the 10th anniversary of the establishment of a comprehensive strategic partnership between China and New Zealand. Mai Kangnian believes that the long-term stable development of New China relations has become a model of friendly relations between countries with different social systems, historical and cultural backgrounds, and development stages. New Zealand has created several "firsts" in China's relations with western developed countries: the first to sign a free trade agreement with China, the first to join the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, and the first to sign a cooperation agreement with China to jointly build the "the Belt and Road". China has become New Zealand's largest trading partner for many consecutive years, and the relationship between the two countries has achieved significant development, bringing tangible benefits to the people of both countries.
McConnell believes that the initiative of jointly building the "the Belt and Road" has unique cohesion, linking different countries and regions to achieve common development, which is the main reason why the initiative attracts New Zealand. He said that although New Zealand and China have different social systems, they can seek common ground while reserving differences, and the relationship between the two countries is constructive. "We will continue to be committed to promoting the development of New Zealand China relations.".
