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“一带一路”的凝聚力

新西兰对“一带一路”倡议感兴趣的关键在于它具有一种凝聚力,能将不同的国家、地区和世界的不同地方联系起来

文|本刊记者  潘心怡   翻译|潘心怡

第一个同中国结束“入世”双边谈判、第一个承认中国完全市场经济地位、第一个与中国签署自贸协定、第一个与中国签约“一带一路”合作⋯⋯新西兰对与中国的贸易合作历来持有正面的态度,这也让舆论赋予新西兰“敢为西方先”的称号,尤其是新西兰对“一带一路”释放出积极信号后,中新两国的合作前景更令人期待。

近日,新西兰驻华大使麦康年接受了《中国投资》杂志专访,他表示和世界的联系对于新西兰来说至关重要,而“一带一路”倡议所具备的凝聚力是吸引新西兰的关键点。

 

《中国投资》:中共十九大指出,中国的外交政策和“一带一路”倡议要推动构建新型国际关系,推动构建人类命运共同体。您觉得新西兰在中国提出的国际政策新理念中扮演何种角色?

麦康年:新西兰是一个非常开放的社会和经济体,我们认为中国对开放型社会和现代贸易经济体系的坚持是正面的,这对于新西兰来说很重要。

和中国不同,大量来自其他国家的移民在新西兰生活和工作,这是新西兰国家和社会的一个重要特征。近年来,更多来自中国、印度、菲律宾、韩国和其他地方的移民选择了新西兰。我们对于世界持有开放的态度,对世界的参与度很高。

《中国投资》:2014年11月21日,中国国家主席习近平在和太平洋岛国的对话中表示,澳大利亚、新西兰及其他太平洋岛国都是亚太不可分割的一部分,因此是“一带一路”在大洋洲的自然延伸。这是如何在实际上影响新西兰和整个区域的?

麦康年:我们对此感到非常高兴。“一带一路”倡议汇聚了众多视线,尤其是今年五月北京举行的论坛之后(指“一带一路”国际合作高峰论坛,译者注)。

在论坛举行前两个月,李克强出访了新西兰,两国签署了“一带一路”倡议合作的备忘录,并用一年半的时间厘清合作计划。

新西兰对“一带一路”倡议感兴趣的关键在于它具有一种凝聚力,能将不同的国家、地区和世界的不同地方联系起来。

新西兰在“联通”方面具有大量专业经验和人才,因为对于我们来说,如果缺少和世界的联系,新西兰将举步维艰。因此就贸易便利化和不同经济体之间的交流而言,新西兰可谓是经验丰富,中国和新西兰之间在这方面存在很大的互补空间。

 

《中国投资》:新西兰是太平洋岛国的重要的援助方,与太平洋地区国家有着重要的双边关系和多边关系,比如《太平洋更紧密经济关系协定》的签订。您认为中国应该如何与该区域的利益相关方进行深入互动?中国和新西兰能携手做些什么?

麦康年:太平洋地区对于新西兰来说地理相近、位置重要,如今有大量的太平洋岛国居民居住在新西兰。太平洋地区对于新西兰来说非常重要,对于中国的重要性也在日益彰显。我们认为和中国就太平洋地区发生的事情进行对话效果明显,如中国、新西兰和库克岛三方正在携手合作进行供水项目的建设。

太平洋地区是新西兰最活跃的地区,这就要求我国在该区域承担更多。鉴于太平洋国家对中国展现出了欢迎的态度,同时就中国对太平洋地区的兴趣来看,我们认为未来应该和中国进行更多合作。新西兰认为,拥有联系新西兰、太平洋区域、中国三者的途径至关重要。

⬆在观光缆车上俯瞰新西兰皇后镇(CFP)

 

《中国投资》:新西兰和中国之间偶尔会出现摩擦,这些摩擦可以追溯至澳新美安全条约(Anzus)和“五只眼”情报联盟带来的副作用?

麦康年:新西兰和中国在政治和法律上各有不同,这意味着我们会存在一致或不一致的观点。长期以来,中国和新西兰的关系一直如此,事实上,无论是哪两个国家,分歧总是存在的。

尽管存在分歧,两国的关系仍是建设性的。不论异同,我们总能找到解决的办法。中国是比之前更重要的伙伴,为此,双方必然要付出更多的投入和努力。虽然二者是不同的国家,但我们仍彼此联系着。

 

《中国投资》:尽管新西兰是一个传统的贸易大国,新西兰的土地面积约为27万平方公里,人口总量约为470万,仍有巨大的潜力待发掘。来自新西兰的乳制品、肉制品、林业和羊毛在中国市场上十分畅销。在可预见的将来,可能会有哪些行业或者是产品能够有望和中国资本进行对接?

麦康年:1972年以来,尤其是自2008年新西兰成为第一个与中国签署自由贸易协定的国家后,新西兰和中国之间的关系得到极大的发展。

我曾经读过一份新西兰驻中国首任大使写的报告,他在报告中提到,尽管新西兰和中国不是因为贸易才建立外交关系,但他仍然认为中国不久后可能成为新西兰重要的贸易伙伴之一。当时的他不会想到45年后中国成为了我们最大的贸易伙伴,这也出乎了所有人的预料。自由贸易协定为两国间贸易的往来提供了重要的平台,对二者的交流也意义重大。

中国对来自新西兰的产品和服务的需求日益增长,新西兰的产品制造能力也在相应提高,贸易关系历来是两国关系的重要补充。与此同时,两国正在开展对自由贸易协定的升级谈判,我们希望新的自贸协定能符合双方的利益,在这一过程中,不难发现哪些商业领域更具潜力。我相信创意产业将是最有前景的行业之一,我们近来就有很多活动与此相关。

奥克兰大学在在杭州经济开发区建立了机构,一周前,我在浙江参加了该大学主办的一个会议,会议介绍了新西兰特别是奥克兰大学。会上,来自新西兰的研究人员和科学家向中国科学家和投资者们介绍了研究成果。新西兰有很多关于创新的想法,中国对该领域也兴趣浓厚。

尽管规模不同,但新西兰和中国面临着类似的社会经济挑战,两国可能就此在创新和技术领域内携手。事实上,两国已经在创新领域内进行了不少合作。新西兰在软件开发方面经验丰富,而中国企业或许能在这一领域找到投资潜力。

先不论我们对于两国间合作有何期待,实际上决定投资方向的始终是聪明的资金,也就是说实现盈利才是投资的目的。新西兰欢迎中国前来投资,新西兰潜力很大,面积几乎和日本相当,拥有约450万的人口。

在新西兰,作为经济的关键组成部分,农村经济发展具有重要地位,农业是人们最先想到的产业。许多中国企业已经为新西兰的农业和畜牧业产品打通了销售渠道,新西兰商人希望抓住这个机会,融入这种农业交流中去。

服务业在我国的经济体量中占比最大。来自中国的游客数量在持续增长,发展旅游产业很有必要,比如酒店和其他服务业所需要的基础设施。此外,其他行业如医疗保健和废物管理已经获得了中国企业的投资。可以说众多投资领域和类别都会对中国投资者产生吸引力。(编辑:杨海霞)


Connectivity of BRI is the Key Factor Attracting New Zealand

——An Exclusive Interview with John McKinnon, Ambassador of New Zealand to China

Pan Xinyi, China Investment

China Investment:As the 19th Congress of Communist Party has laid out, the goal of China’s foreign policiesas well the Belts and Roads will be forging new type of international relationsand a community of shared future for mankind. What is New Zealand’s take on the new philosophy of China’s global move?

John McKinnon:We are a very opensociety and an open economy. What we find positive is China being committed toan open society and a modern trading economy which is very important for NewZealand.

Different from China, we have a lot immigrants from other countries to live and work in New Zealand and that is afeature of New Zealand as a country and a society. In recent years we have more immigrants from China, India, the Philippians, Korea and many other places. NewZealand is open to the world and very engaged in the world.

 

China Investment:On 21st November 2014 and in his dialogue in Suva, Fiji, with leaders of the PacificIsland countries, President Xi Jinping claimed that Australia, New Zealand and the Pacific Island nations are an integral part of Asia Pacific, and there forea natural extension of the Belts and Roads to the whole region of Oceania. Inreality, however, how does this fit to New Zealand and the wider region?

John McKinnon: We are very happy to hear that and of course Belt and Road initiative has got a lot of attentione specially this year because there was a big summer meeting in Beijing in May.

Two months before that, when Premier LiKeqiang visited New Zealand, New Zealand and China signed a memorandum of the arrangement for the BRI and we spent the next a year and a half to figure out what projects we want to do.

From New Zealand’s point of view, the keyarea that we are interested in B&R initiative is because it has aconnectivity between different countries, different regions, different parts ofthe world.

New Zealand has a lot of expertise in thatarea because for us connectivity is so important that if we do not connect,nothing is going to happen.

So in terms of trade facilitation andinteraction between different economies, an area we have a lot of skills, thereis a quite degree of complementarity between what China is interested in and wants to do and the skills New Zealand has.

 

China Investment:New Zealandis an important aid donor to Pacific island nations and has strong bilateral and multilateral links with the region, e.g. the Pacific Agreement on Closer  Economic Relations – Plus(PACER-Plus) What China can interact further with all the stake-holders in there gion? What we can do together?

John McKinnon:The pacific area isvery close to New Zealand and very important. There are many pacific islander snow living in New Zealand.

From New Zealand's point of view, pacificarea is very important. At the same time it is becoming increasingly important for China .

 Wefind it very useful and helpful to have dialogue with China about what is happening in pacific. One very practical project we have been doing is what happening on Cook Islands where China, New Zealand and Cook Islands cooperated together to do water quality and water supply.

Pacific is the area we are mostly activeand it will be something we require to do more. We think that we should do more with China in the future because we see China’s presence on the pacific assomething welcomed by the pacific countries and China’s interest in the part ofthe world is continuing.

From New Zealand's prospect, it is important to have channels of communication that can link us and the pacific together with China.

 

China Investment:Occasionalfriction can be seen between New Zealand and China. Is that primarily because the side effects of ANZUS or the role of NZ as one of the “Five Eyes”?

John McKinnon:New Zealand and China have different approaches on the way we organize politics or the way ween force our laws, which means we may have some points we are agree or other points disagree.

That has been the practice of there lationship between China and New Zealand for a very long time. Whoever the two countries are, there will be always differences between them.

Despite those disagreements, we have very constructive relationship. Agreements or disagreements, with those we can always find ways of dealing.

China has become a more important partner.The investment and effort we make to sustain that relationship is correspondingly greater. We still recognize we are different countries and were late to each other in spite of that fact.

 

China Investment:New Zealand has been traditionally a trading nation with the great potential yet to betapped, by far, of land area of 270,534 and population of 4.7 million. Productsof dairy, meat, forestry and wool are readily welcome in market places allacross China. What particular lines of business or sectors of the economy are expected to access of Chinese investment for the fo reseeable future?

John McKinnon:The relationship between New Zealand and China has been significantly developed since 1972 andespecially since 2008 when New Zealand became the first developed country which signed a free trade agreement with China.

Interestingly, I came across a report written by the first New Zealand ambassador to China. In the report he saidwhile China and New Zealand did not establish diplomatic relations because of trade, he believed that in a while China may become one of the important trading partners of New Zealand. He had no conception that 45 years on China would be our first tradepartner. Nobody had that expectation.

Not only FTA is very significant providinga platform for the expansion of the trade, but also the communication between the two countries.

As you see, the demand from China for goodsand some services produced by New Zealand has increasingly risen as New Zealand’sability to supply those needs has continued to expand, which has always been as ignificant component to our relationship.

Meanwhile we are upgrading the free trade agreement because we hope it can fit the purpose of both sides, from which wecan tell the business sectors and activities that are most likely to be taking place. I believe creative industry will be one of the most promising sectorssince we now have a number of activities related to it.

 Aweek before, I was in Zhejiang attending a conference organized by AucklandUniversity who established an institution in the Hangzhou economic development area and held a conference to introduce New Zealand, particularly AucklandUniversity. On the meeting researchers and scientists from New Zealand introduced their work to Chinese scientists and Chinese investors.

Presentations about quite specialized field were shown and I found that there are probably a lot of thinking of innovationin New Zealand and a lot of interests in China.

There are some social economic challenges of which the scale may be different but the two countries are facing similarproblems, such as aging population. This may lead New Zealand and China to cooperate in the areas of innovation and technology. In fact, we have already seen a lot of collaboration expanding in this area. New Zealand is quiteskilled in software developments and Chinese business may find investment potential in this field.

Despite our expectations of cooperation between the two countries, it is always the smart money deciding the directionof investments, which means Chinese investments in New Zealand dedicated to what profitable. Chinese investments are rather welcomed in New Zealand. As youmentioned, New Zealand is a country with a lot of potential with a large landalmost the size of Japan and the population of four and half million.

As the key part of New Zealand's economy,the development of rural sector has significant status, and the development of agriculture probably is the first thought in people’s mind. Many Chinese business has opened gate to New Zealand’s agriculture and livestock products.New Zealand merchants want to seize the opportunity and be associated with inthe area.

Service economy is actually the largestpart of New Zealand’s economy now. The number of tourists from China going to visit New Zealand is increasing continuously. Obviously, there exists the need to develop tourism industry, e.g. infrastructure required for hotels and other services.

In addition to these, there are other areassuch as healthcare and waste management that had already gained investments from Chinese companies. To some extent, a broad area and categories that will appeal to the interest of Chinese investors.