Major news! New Zealand Prime Minister's China visit sends positive signals. Could this industry reap substantial benefits?

New Zealand Prime Minister Chris Hipkins began a 6-day visit to China on 25 June. Before departing, he said the large trade delegation reflected New Zealand's determination to diversify its imports and exports. He believed that although traditional commodities such as dairy products, meat and timber still accounted for a large share of trade with China, expanding bilateral trade was equally important. As New Zealand's industries recover after the COVID pandemic, Hipkins also hopes to attract more Chinese visitors back to New Zealand.

New Zealand Prime Minister Chris Hipkins attends, in Tianjin on 27 June,

a dialogue session at the Summer Davos Forum

 

Since China and New Zealand signed their free trade agreement in 2008, China's importance to the New Zealand economy has grown each year. It overtook Australia as New Zealand's largest trading partner at the end of 2013 and remains so today, with Australia, the United States, the European Union and Singapore occupying positions 2–5, respectively. In the first quarter of this year, total trade in goods and services between New Zealand and China reached NZ$9,380,000,000, comprising NZ$5,290,000,000 in New Zealand exports to China and NZ$4,090,000,000 in imports from China.

 

 

New Zealand Prime Minister's China visit gives bilateral trade a positive boost

 

Against the current historic backdrop, we have reason to believe the New Zealand Prime Minister's visit to China has given bilateral trade a positive boost, particularly for key New Zealand industries such as tourism, education, agriculture and forestry. But could another pillar of New Zealand's economy—the property and construction industry—also benefit?

 

 

2023 NZIBES The International Pavilion will be this year's exhibition highlight

 

A flagship event for New Zealand's construction industry, the New Zealand International Building Expo & Summit (NZIBES), initiated by the New Zealand Chinese Building Industry Association (NZCBIA), has long been a leading bridge between the local construction industry and international markets. As one of the industry's largest and most prestigious annual events, NZIBES has, over the past 8 years, provided a professional and diverse platform for local and overseas construction and property businesses and industry professionals to connect, guided by a commitment to mutually beneficial cooperation.

 

 

One of the biggest highlights of this year's NZIBES is the newly launched International Pavilion, bringing together many leading international brands and providers of products and services. As a premier showcase for the construction industry's latest technologies, products and services, NZIBES can rapidly raise standards across New Zealand's construction and building materials markets while encouraging broader industry exchanges, brand connections and networking.

 

 

Addressing the problems in New Zealand's building materials market

 

Severe shortages of building materials have long kept prices high. Without a one-stop procurement and supply chain platform, the sector faces market dominance by upstream businesses, while downstream businesses compete individually with limited competitive strength.

 

Meanwhile, overseas businesses rely too heavily on overseas agents and lack an understanding of the local market, leaving them unable to promptly provide customised products and services that meet market demand. Many Chinese building materials businesses are unable to enter mainstream mid-range and premium markets because of limited overseas sales channels, complex certification procedures and competition based on low prices.

 

Finding better ways to bring advanced international building materials and technologies into the local market is therefore key to resolving New Zealand's building materials shortages!

 

Homehopper's solution

 

 

Homehopper recently became the naming sponsor of the 2023 NZIBES International Pavilion. As a distinctive one-stop platform providing consolidated procurement and supply chain services across the home and building sector in Australia and New Zealand, Homehopper has strengthened its industry presence while supporting business growth, enhancing the reputation of Chinese smart manufacturing and opening up broader opportunities for development.

 

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Homehopper has truly delivered on the following:

 

• Keeping pace with market demand: bringing together industry expertise to provide precisely targeted, comprehensive services guided by market needs.
• Sharing market resources: providing one-stop customised services for property developers and project owners, and strengthening cooperation between upstream and downstream businesses.

 

Homehopper has brought together resources from manufacturers, agents, distributors and service providers, creating an ecosystem spanning the wider property industry's entire value chain. It has built a supply chain services platform linking New Zealand's domestic and overseas markets, while contributing to the international expansion of China's building materials and home products sectors. A powerful partnership for shared future success!

 

 

As naming sponsor of the International Pavilion, Homehopper will make a prominent appearance alongside its brands and facilitate connections across brands, industries, projects and professional networks through the exhibition's “B2B Matchmaking” event.

 

The International Pavilion will also include a Function Zone. This year's expo theme is Reduce Our Carbon Footprint. During the two-day exhibition, a series of seminars and discussions will explore new technologies, including professional exchanges on green buildings and environmental protection. Organisers will bring together numerous brands and organisations committed to sustainability for technical exchanges, including NZ Green Building Council, Passive House Institute and others. The Function Zone will also be available for external bookings. Businesses, institutions, brands and community groups are welcome to participate in talks and discussions during NZIBES. For details, contact event@multimarketing.co.nz.

 

 

NZCBIA president Frank Xu has previously said publicly on several occasions that society's rapid development has raised expectations for low-carbon living and given us a new understanding of low-carbon buildings, providing further impetus for green, low-carbon design. Incorporating low-carbon principles into construction can help address resource shortages while raising awareness of low-carbon environmental protection.

 

 

We call on all Chinese professionals in New Zealand's construction industry to incorporate long-term carbon reduction goals into housing design and construction. We also warmly invite outstanding local and overseas businesses and organisations working in environmentally friendly materials, prefabricated buildings, new energy and related fields to participate in this year's building expo!