China, N.Zealand sign free trade pact

CHINA: New Zealand signed a free-trade agreement with China on Monday, making it the first developed economy to enter such a pact with the Asian giant, officials said.

The agreement, which will eventually all but eliminate tariffs between the two nations, will also have positive effects in other areas, said New Zealand Prime Minister Helen Clark, who attended the signing ceremony in Beijing.

"The FTA... promotes co-operation in a broad range of economic areas, and also provides a platform for further engagement at the governmental, cultural, and people-to-

people levels," she said in a statement. The agreement came after 15 rounds of negotiations stretching back nearly four years and despite some criticism of Clark for pushing ahead with the pact during China's crackdown on unrest in Tibet.

"It was with a great sense of ambition that we embarked on this particular phase of the relationship," Clark told her Chinese counterpart Wen Jiabao in Beijing's Great Hall of the People. Wen called it "a historic day," arguing the agreement will "deliver tangible benefits to both our countries." Beijing, Tuesday, AFP