China's top diplomat: Confident about stable ties with New Zealand

Chinese Central Foreign Affairs Commission Office Director Wang Yi waits before before Russia - China talks at the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia March 21, 2023. Sputnik/Sergei Karpukhin/Pool via REUTERS/File Photo

China's top diplomat Wang Yi said on Friday that China sees New Zealand as an important partner and has confidence in the certainty and stability in bilateral relations.

Both sides should promote the upgrading of economic and trade cooperation, Wang told New Zealand's Foreign Minister Nanaia Mahuta, according to a statement released by the Chinese foreign ministry.

Mahuta arrived in China on Wednesday for a four-day trip, the first by a New Zealand minister since 2019.

FILE PHOTO: New Zealand Foreign Minister Nanaia Mahuta speaks during a session of the UN Human Rights Council, which voted to hold an urgent debate about Russia's deadly invasion of Ukraine at Kyiv's request, amid widespread international condemnation of Moscow's attack, in Geneva, Switzerland February 28, 2022. Fabrice Coffrini/Pool via REUTERS/File Photo

New Zealand and China's interactions have remained largely cordial with the two sides upgrading their free trade pact last year. China remains New Zealand's largest trading partner.

(Reporting by Ryan Woo; Editing by Frank Jack Daniel)