On April 7, 2008, then Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao and former Prime Minister of New Zealand Helen Clark witnessed the signing of the China-New Zealand Free Trade Agreement (FTA) in Beijing, which entered into force on October 1, 2008. The agreement is the first comprehensive FTA that China has ever signed as well as the first FTA that China signs with a developed country.

China and New Zealand formally launched the free trade negotiations in December 2004 and concluded the talks in December 2007 following 15 rounds of negotiations.

According to the agreement, all goods exported from China to New Zealand will be tariff free from January 1, 2016 while tariffs on most New Zealand exports to China will be eliminated from January 1, 2019.

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