“China and New Zealand enjoy an impressive and proud list of ‘firsts’ in China’s relations with developed countries. To name a few, New Zealand is the first developed country to conclude bilateral negotiations on China's WTO accession, the first to recognize China's full market economy status, the first to sign and implement a bilateral FTA with China, the first to join the China-initiated Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank as a founding member, the first to hold a nationwide Chinese Language Week, the first country to announce the launch of negotiations to upgrade bilateral FTA.”
Li Keqiang, Premier of the State Council of People's Republic of China