Hastings glows for Chinese visitors

A visit to Hastings by the mayor of a city in China that is home to seven million people has ended with the promise of meetings between business executives in both regions.

Hastings District Council hosted the mayor of Nanning city, Zhou Hongbo, on Wednesday (May 6), and showcased educational and business opportunities.

It was the first visit to Hastings by Mr Zhou and his entourage, which included the directors of Nanning’s development and reform commission, administration bureau, and foreign affairs and overseas affairs office.

For council, the delegation was hosted by mayor Lawrence Yule and councillor Kevin Watkins.

Mr Watkins was at Hastings Girls High School for a morning tea held during a tour of the school by the delegation.

Student Chen Ziying, who comes from Nanning, was very excited when Mr Zhou shuffled the seating arrangement to place her next to him. Ziying then lead the tour of the school, which drew a great deal of praise from the visitors.

Watkins said the environment, particularly the “vast expanses of grass and trees” most impressed the guests. “You just don’t see that at schools in China.”

Also impressive was a students’ block for the use of international students, he said.

One of the Chinese officials said he would seriously consider sending his daughter to the high school, Mr Watkins said.

As well as looking at potential educational options for Chinese students, the delegation was also in Hastings to look at business opportunities in horticulture and food processing.

“In that 24 hours they had a very good first-hand look at our horticultural environment; the amount of land that we have dedicated to growing first grade food. They expressed interest in encouraging joint business ventures.”

Wineries were on the itinerary. Mr Watkins said the visitors were in no doubt that while Hawke’s Bay did not produce “vast amounts of wine; the wine we do produce is of a very high quality”.

Nanning is considered the business hub of the 10 ASEAN countries; a place where trade deals are facilitated.

According to the New Zealand Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade the ASEAN group is New Zealand’s fourth largest export market for goods, with two-way trade in goods worth $13.5 billion in the year to July 2014.

The 24 hour tour finished with a “concrete result”, Watkins said.

“Before leaving Mr Zhou said he was going to have talks with business executives in his region about the business opportunities, particularly joint ventures, in Hastings.”

Mr Zhou had offered to set up meetings between interested parties.

4 October 2017

Back to Archive