[Ambassador sees China] New Zealand Ambassador to China Mai Kangnian： China approaches the center of the world stage.

New Zealand Ambassador to China Mike Kangnian

I wish CCTV readers and viewers all the best — — New Zealand Ambassador to China Mike Kangnian

　　Cctv news(Reporter Li Yinan) New Zealand’s dairy products, Maori culture and good social environment are widely known in China. The unique and charming natural scenery there has not only become the main location for The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit, but also fascinated tourists all over the world.

　　In recent years, exchanges and cooperation between China and New Zealand in politics, economy, trade and culture have been deepening. On November 19th, 2014, on the occasion of president’s state visit to New Zealand, the Supreme Leader published a signed article entitled "Drawing a Better Future for China-Singapore Relations Together" in the New Zealand Herald. The article pointed out that "the development of China-Singapore relations has gone beyond the bilateral scope, providing an example for countries to explore successful ways to get along."

　　On the eve of The 19th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, CCTV reporters had an exclusive interview with New Zealand Ambassador to China, Mr. McConnell, on China-Singapore relations, China-Singapore FTA and other issues.

　　The "Belt and Road Initiative" leads the new direction of the two countries

　　The "Belt and Road Initiative" proposed by China has been positively responded and highly recognized by all countries in the world. Various projects that China participated in have not only been successfully carried out in Asia, Europe, Africa and other countries and regions, but also received strong support from New Zealand in Oceania.

　　Ambassador Mai Kangnian said: "We were deeply impressed by Chairman Supreme Leader’s speech in Davos this year. He expressed a clear support attitude towards free trade and globalization, which is consistent with our views. We hope that China can continue to deepen ‘ Belt and Road ’ Initiative, and look forward to more projects being implemented under the guidance of this initiative. "

　　He also pointed out that the "Belt and Road" international cooperation summit forum held in Beijing in May this year was very successful, and the New Zealand government delegation attended the forum and participated in the discussion. The forum provided us with an opportunity to listen to the views of other countries and gave us a clearer view of the overall situation of the "Belt and Road Initiative".

　　"This forum is of great significance, and the future path of New Zealand is also part of the whole process." Ambassador Mai Kangnian said, "This summit is an important milestone, and ‘ Belt and Road ’ The initiative will lead the relationship between China and Singapore to a new direction. "

New Zealand Ambassador to China Mai Kangnian accepted an exclusive interview with CCTV reporters (photo by Chen Tao Wang Song, Smart Media Lab)

　　China is becoming more and more important on the world stage.

　　Since the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, China has not only played an irreplaceable role in promoting world economic growth and global governance, but also hosted a series of high-level and high-standard international conferences. The voice of China, China’s plan and China’s wisdom have demonstrated China’s demeanor as a great country to the world again and again.

　　Mr. Mai Kangnian has visited China in different capacities for many times, and this is his second time to work in China as an ambassador to China. During the interview, he shared with reporters the development and changes of China in his eyes, and highly praised China’s positive role on the world stage in recent years.

　　He said: "In recent years, China has paid more and more attention to environmental issues, and at the same time, it has paid great attention to corruption and cracked down on corruption. In the past, the China Municipal Government also made efforts to solve the problems of environment and corruption, but now its performance is even more striking. "

　　Ambassador Mai Kangnian said, "Under the leadership of Chairman of the Supreme Leader, China has shown its vitality on the world stage. The fact that China has hosted many international high-level conferences is enough to show that today’s China occupies a pivotal position in international activities and China is becoming more and more important. "

New Zealand Ambassador to China Mai Kangnian accepted an exclusive interview with CCTV reporters (photo by Chen Tao Wang Song, Smart Media Lab)

　　Negotiations on the FTA are progressing satisfactorily.

　　2017 coincides with the 45th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and New Zealand. China and New Zealand jointly announced that they will start negotiations on upgrading bilateral free trade agreements to better promote the continued healthy development of bilateral trade. Ingley Heezen, Prime Minister of New Zealand, said that the free trade between New Zealand and China has been very successful. Since the launch of the free trade agreement in 2008, the trade volume between the two countries has doubled, and the results have actually benefited the two peoples.

　　In the interview, Ambassador Mai Kangnian revealed that China and New Zealand have completed two rounds of negotiations on the FTA, and the third round will be held before the end of this year. New Zealand attaches great importance to this FTA negotiation with China, and the two sides have established several bilateral working groups for each trade field, some of which have achieved remarkable results. "It can be said that the progress is gratifying and we are confident to reach a final agreement."

New Zealand Ambassador to China Mai Kangnian accepted an exclusive interview with CCTV reporters (photo by Chen Tao Wang Song, Smart Media Lab)

　　China-Singapore relations will continue to advance steadily in the future.

　　Although China and New Zealand have different historical cultures, values and development priorities, in the 45 years since the establishment of diplomatic relations, the two countries have understood and respected each other, and cooperation in various fields has developed rapidly from scratch.

　　Ambassador McConnell said that China has very close ties with New Zealand, and more and more China enterprises and Chinese are investing, working, traveling and studying in New Zealand. In addition, New Zealand will soon become the first country in the world with two cultural centers in China, which are located in Auckland and Wellington, New Zealand. He believes that these two cultural centers in China will become important platforms for New Zealanders to understand China.

　　Regarding the upsurge of New Zealanders actively learning Chinese in recent years, Ambassador McConnell lamented, "This was impossible ten years ago. I think more New Zealanders in the next generation will learn Chinese, and more people will live and work in China. I hope that more New Zealanders can integrate into China culture. Humanities exchange is the most likely area for changes in bilateral relations in the future, and China-Singapore relations may also usher in more positive development. "

　　When talking about the future cooperation between the two countries, Ambassador Mai Kangnian said that in addition to the existing bilateral cooperation, the future cooperation between China and New Zealand in various fields is full of potential. For example, he said, "We are aware that environmental protection is increasingly becoming a key issue of concern to China, and look forward to exchanges and cooperation with China in this field, and we are also willing to share environmental protection knowledge and experience with China. In addition, I also noticed that the number of movie audiences and audiences in other creative industries in China is very large, and the interaction and cooperation between the two countries in this field will be closer and more frequent in the future. "

　　"I am convinced that in the next 45 years, the relationship between the two countries will continue to ride the wind and waves and move forward steadily." Ambassador McConnell said.

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