ISTANBUL

Chinese Premier Li Qiang is set to visit New Zealand this week, the first such trip since 2017, when the former prime minister, late Li Keqiang, visited Wellington in 2017.

“I look forward to warmly welcoming Premier Li in New Zealand this week,” New Zealand's Prime Minister Christopher Luxon said Monday on X.

Luxon said Li’s visit was a “valuable opportunity for exchanges on areas of cooperation between New Zealand and China.”

The two sides established diplomatic relations in December 1972, and the bilateral trade volume has so far reached $40 billion.

Li will visit the capital Wellington, as well as the northern city of Auckland.

New Zealand and China “have shared interests, and we speak frankly and constructively with each other where we have differences. Our relationship is significant, complex, and resilient," Luxon said.

"The challenging global outlook makes it vital that we are sharing perspectives and engaging China on key issues that matter to New Zealand,” he added.

The visit to New Zealand by Li comes after China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi paid a trip to Wellington in March.

Last year, Luxon’s predecessor Chris Hipkins led a business delegation to China, visiting Beijing, Tianjin, and Shanghai.