An arrangement signed by New Zealand and China paves the way for future forestry cooperation and boosting bilateral trade, Forestry Minister Shane Jones says.

Jones and Zhang Jianlong, the administrator of China‘s National Forestry and Grasslands Administration, signed the arrangement in Wellington.

“The updated arrangement supports and strengthens links between government, industry and research institutes in New Zealand and China. It provides a framework to address matters such as sustainability, wood processing and utilisation, and trade and investment,” Jones said.

The forestry sector is an important and growing part of New Zealand‘s bilateral trade with China, with export revenue topping $3.2 billion in the year ending 2018.

“Much of this growth has come from increased Chinese demand for New Zealand forestry products, supporting both continued high prices and record export volumes,” said Jones.

“A number of Chinese companies choose to use wood sourced from New Zealand for their manufacturing, and I‘m keen to see how we can grow the relationship further, especially for our respective wood processing industries. With my Chinese counterpart, I have agreed that officials will cooperate to encourage increased trade, including in value-added wood products.”

Jones said they would hold talks in China later this year, which industry will be invited to, to promote government-to-government and industry-to-industry collaboration.

“Signing the updated arrangement is a testament to the huge amount of goodwill between our two countries, and marks a commitment to continue working together for mutual benefit. I see a multitude of opportunities for New Zealand and China to cooperate and support our forestry and wood processing industries, in a way that also supports environmental objectives.

“The wider One Billion Trees goal to plant at least one billion trees by 2028 is an ambitious one, and it will drive regional revitalisation, support Maori to realise the potential of their land, and deliver benefits to our people and our environment.

“Ensuring an end-to-end value chain for our logs and forest products, along with our relationships with trading partners, including China, are an important part of achieving these aspirations,” Jones said.