China agrees to launch tourism campaign with New Zealand on March 29 after delaying it amid brewing tensions

Bilateral relations were strained last year by Wellington’s ban on Chinese telecoms giant Huawei being involved in the country’s 5G roll-out

But New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has stressed that economic ties remain strong

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New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern. Photo: New Zealand Herald

Published: 6:09pm, 11 Mar 2019Updated: 10:37am, 12 Mar 2019

The China-New Zealand Year of Tourism 2019 is back on and will begin on March 29 after Beijing postponed the campaign in mid-February amid diplomatic tensions between the two countries.

New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern made the announcement on Monday, adding that the tourism year will be launched at the national museum Te Papa in Wellington.

Details of a planned visit by Ardern to China have yet to be finalised, though New Zealand Trade Minister David Parker will be taking part in a Belt and Road Forum to be held in Beijing next month.

Ardern said she was invited to visit China “some time ago and we have been working on both sides to find a mutually convenient time for the visit”.

In the works for nearly two years, the tourism year’s postponement by the Chinese side over “scheduling issues” came amid heightened tensions in the two countries’ relationship following the decision late last year by New Zealand’s Government Communications Security Bureau to bar Chinese telecoms giant Huawei from being involved in the nationwide roll-out of a next-generation 5G network.