About
The International Sustainable Cities Forum is held in conjunction with the first anniversary of the signing of the China-New Zealand Free Trade Agreement, celebrating a new level of partnership between New Zealand and China in the area of trade and commerce.
The overall aim of this Forum is to establish and leverage effective long-term cooperation between Chinese and New Zealand business leaders and high-level government officials. The visiting Chinese entrepreneurs and investors have also expressed interest in exploring commercial opportunities in New Zealand as well as to understand New Zealand’s approach to sustainable development. We believe the scale and status of this Chinese delegation to New Zealand is unprecedented, both before and after the signing of the China-New Zealand Free Trade Agreement.
The organisers have managed to secure the attendance of approximately 50 senior business and government leaders from China to attend this Forum. Key Chinese leaders confirmed attending include:
- Wang Shi, the Godfather of Chinese real estate, Chairman of Vanke, with market capitalisation over US$10b, the largest property developer in China;
- Xia Gang, President of China International Industry and Commerce Company, significant commercial property developer;
- Wu Xu, President of Chongqing Sincere Holdings, with interests in property and finance;
- Meng Gang , Chairman of National Chiao Tung University Real Estate Group, City Union’s rotating presidency;
- Vice Mayors from Chang Xing County in Zhejiang Province, Wu Jin District in Jiangsu Province.
The Chinese participants are keen to look at partnership possibilities in New Zealand. They also want to better understand New Zealand’s capabilities in the area of sustainable development.
At this Forum, participants will have unparalleled access to some of the top decision makers in the booming Chinese real estate and investment sectors.
Limited tickets available, so register now to avoid disappointment.
Why attend:
- Unparalleled access to key decision makers in the Chinese real estate and investment sectors
- Understand economic and political developments in China
- Obtain analysis of China’s future trends and the implications for your business
- Hear the latest updates from successful Chinese corporate and government leaders
- Appreciate Chinese culture and the business of relationships
- Fast track your China ambitions by connecting with China and NZ-based Chinese businesspeople
- Know how to deal with Chinese businesspeople and government officials
Who should attend:
- CEOs / Directors / Business owners who want to explore opportunities in China
- Business development professionals in the property/construction/engineering / design sectors
- Businesspeople who want to understand the mindset of Chinese investors and entrepreneurs
- Businesspeople who want to sell products / services to Chinese firms and need information/ networks
- Management teams seeking investors with capital and connections in China
- Professionals who can contribute expertise towards building sustainable cities
- Government officials desiring to strengthen connections with Chinese government officials
The organisers are anticipating a balanced crowd of approximately 25% Chinese, 25% Chinese New Zealanders and 50% other New Zealanders. This would enable good networking as we expect that attendees will not be at a forum where participants already know one another.
Why are the Chinese interested in New Zealand?
New Zealand is renowned in China, and the rest of the world, for being clean and green. The Chinese recognise that there are opportunities to learn from New Zealand’s approach to sustainable development. There is increasing awareness in China of New Zealand’s expertise in sustainable development, eco-friendly building design, earthquake proofing and cutting-edge urban planning. The need for such expertise is increasingly urgent. Until a quarter century ago, private residential property did not exist in China. In 2007, China added 5.5 million new housing units, four times what the United States built and more than one-quarter of all new housing stock in the world. Rapid urbanisation and development at breakneck speed has necessitated the exploration of more sustainable development strategies.
There is also a degree of fondness with New Zealand. The signing of the China-NZ FTA in April 2008 represents “the fourth first” in a series of milestone agreements between New Zealand and China in the trade and economic area. Many Chinese businesspeople acknowledge the depth of the relationship between the 2 countries. The other “firsts” in the relationship:
• New Zealand was the first Western country to conclude a bilateral agreement with China on its accession to the World Trade Organisation, in August 1997.
• New Zealand was the first developed economy to recognise China’s status as a market economy in April 2004.
• New Zealand was the first developed country to enter into FTA negotiations with China, announced in November 2004.
After years of accumulating substantial trade surpluses with her trading partners, China has foreign reserves of around US$2 trillion today. In spite of recent turmoil in financial markets and subsequent economic recession, many Chinese investors continue to pursue investment and development opportunities. Warren Buffett’s simple philosophy, be fearful when others are greedy, be greedy when others are fearful; is well understood by more sophisticated Chinese investors.