Asia

China Agrees to Launch Tourism Campaign with New Zealand

The China-New Zealand Year of Tourism 2019 will begin on March 29 and is designed to strengthen both diplomatic and cultural relationships between the countries

March 12th, 2019
Diana Usurelu, News from Berlin
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In the works for nearly two years, the tourism year’s postponement by the Chinese side over “scheduling issues” came amid heightened tensions in the two countries’ relationship following the decision late last year by New Zealand’s Government Communications Security Bureau to bar Chinese telecoms giant Huawei from being involved in the nationwide roll-out of a next-generation 5G network.

China is New Zealand’s second largest tourism market, behind Australia, with more than 450,000 visitors in 2018, which is projected to increase to 800,000 annual visitors by 2024. Hongzhi Gao, associate professor of international business at Victoria University of Wellington, said that New Zealand has long found itself performing a balancing act when it comes to foreign and economic affairs. “What New Zealand should be clear on is that there is no compromise on national sovereignty and security, but there can be compromises on economic interests,” said Gao.

There is still a really solid economic relationship between the two countries, this is a great example of cultural diplomacy as this is an opportunity for people from both countries to learn about the other and explore the other’s country, traditions and culture.

References

News from Berlin