Contracts valued at 1.22 billion yuan (about 180 million U.S. dollars) were signed Tuesday at the China-New Zealand dairy products business matchmaking conference and signing ceremony hosted by China Construction Bank Corporation (CCB) New Zealand Branch.

The event was an initiative by the CCB to support the China International Import Expo (CIIE) in its third year. In the event, businesses from New Zealand and China joined an innovative online session for business matchmaking, which resulted in contracts worth 1.22 billion yuan signed and further 8.6 billion yuan (about 1.3 billion U.S. dollars) worth of cooperation intentions reached between the two sides.

With effective measures, both New Zealand and China have brought the COVID-19 under control and demands for New Zealand quality products in China are there and are potentially growing, said Huang Yuefeng, economic and commercial counsellor from the Chinese Embassy to New Zealand.

Xingyao Li, deputy CEO of the CCB New Zealand Branch, said, "The online matchmaking and contracts signing is what we have initiated to help both New Zealand and Chinese companies with effective and boundless online financial and cloud supporting services."

Gareth Lyness, marketing manager of Blue River Dairy, said the cloud signing and cloud matching would bring new channels for enterprises to trade, and provide a brand new platform for further exploring and discovering cooperation opportunities and expanding cooperation channels.

Ten local New Zealand dairy companies participated in the event. The New Zealand companies were also joined by CCB branches in China and many Chinese businesses seeking opportunities in bilateral trade. Enditem