China and New Zealand have given their consent to start formal discussions to boost their free trade agreement (FTA), the New Zealand prime minister made this announcement through an email sent on Monday. He said that the upgrade of the agreement will be based on the other FTAs formed by China.

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China and New Zealand have entered into a free trade agreement in 2008. New Zealand was the first western country to form such an alliance with China. This year, New Zealand saw a $12.2 billion worth of goods exported from New Zealand to China as of June. China is currently the largest export market for New Zealand.

New Zealand Prime Minister John Key said that the upgrade will ensure that the agreement between the two countries is on par with other free trade agreements signed by China since 2008. Key is currently in Lima, Peru, to attend APEC summit.

Addressing a gathering of world leaders and business executives, Key said that China is likely to become the leader of free trade, if the US backs out. The prime minister stated that if US president-elect Donald Trump is not willing to be part of the pacific free trade, then China can fill the void.

Key said, "We have to have a strong message that what we are doing here works, we believe in it. We hope he's part of the program, but if he's not, we're going to carry on doing this." However, he also expressed his optimism that the US administration will change its stance to be more receptive to free trade.

Tagschina, new zealand, free trade, John Key