WELLINGTON, Oct. 28 (Xinhua) -- New Zealand Trade Minister Todd McClay will travel to Beijing and Hong Kong next week for talks on trade issues with Chinese counterparts.
McClay said in a statement Friday he would have "a brief trade-related program" in Beijing.
New Zealand is seeking to upgrade the bilateral free trade agreement (FTA) with China, which was signed in 2008.
McClay has said more than once that New Zealand is asking China to lift dairy tariffs, which are not due to come off for another six years under the original agreement.
In the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, McClay would meet with the Financial Secretary John Tsang Chun-wah and Secretary of Commerce and Economic Development Gregory So Kam-leung.
"I welcome the opportunity to meet with my counterparts in Hong Kong, and exchange views on regional developments and our many shared interests," said McClay.
Hong Kong was New Zealand's 15th largest trading partner with two-way trade worth 1.6 billion NZ dollars (1.14 billion U.S. dollars) and a growing source of investment into New Zealand.
The New Zealand-Hong Kong, China Closer Economic Partnership agreement, an FTA between New Zealand and Hong Kong, came into effect in 2011.
