China and New Zealand have agreed to jointly promote negotiations on the negative list for trade in services under the China-New Zealand Free Trade Agreement, according to China’s Ministry of Commerce spokesperson He Yadong. The agreement was reached at the 34th China-New Zealand Joint Trade and Economic Commission meeting held on June 5 in Beijing. Both sides also agreed to enhance communication and collaboration within APEC and WTO frameworks, and to continue supporting a rules-based multilateral trading system.

The ministry stated it will continue to work with its New Zealand counterpart to fully leverage the joint commission mechanism, further drive bilateral economic and trade cooperation, and contribute to building a comprehensive strategic partnership between the two countries.

中国商务部发言人何亚东宣布，中国与新西兰同意共同推进中新自贸协定服务贸易负面清单谈判。该决定是在6月5日于北京召开的第34届中新联合经贸委员会会议上正式达成的。双方还同意在APEC和WTO等框架内加强沟通协作，继续支持基于规则的多边贸易体系。商务部表示将继续与新方充分利用联合委员会机制，进一步推动双边经贸合作深入发展，为构建中新全面战略伙伴关系作出更大贡献。

The 34th Joint Trade and Economic Commission meeting represents the institutional backbone of NZ-China economic relations. The formal agreement to advance negative list negotiations, coming just weeks after the APEC ministerial meeting in Suzhou, signals strong political will on both sides. The negative list approach is particularly significant because it would invert the current presumption: instead of only allowing what is explicitly permitted, all service sectors would be open unless specifically restricted.

This could meaningfully expand market access for NZ service providers in financial services, education, tourism, and professional services. The commitment to multilateral frameworks like APEC and WTO also provides a broader context of rules-based trade that benefits both economies.

第34届联合经贸委员会会议代表了新中经济关系的制度支柱。推进负面清单谈判的正式协议在苏州APEC部长级会议仅几周后达成，表明双方都有强烈的政治意愿推动服务贸易自由化。负面清单方式特别重要，因为它将反转当前的推定原则：不是只允许明确列出的内容，而是所有服务部门默认开放，除非明确列出限制。这可以实质性地扩大新西兰金融服务、教育、旅游和专业服务提供商的市场准入空间。对APEC和WTO等多边框架的持续承诺也为基于规则的贸易体系提供了更广泛的支持，使双方经济都能从中受益。

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Source: Xinhua News Agency / China.org.cn

Disclaimer / 免责声明：This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal, trade, or investment advice. / 本文仅供参考，不构成法律、贸易或投资建议。