New Zealand was the first developed country to sign a Free Trade Agreement with China back in 2008. Now, the nations have signed a world-first television co-production agreement. It's spearheaded by a relatively small production house on New Zealand's South Island.

'NHNZ' spearheads TV co-production with China

Watched over by a statue of Scottish poet Robbie Burns, New Zealand's fourth-largest city has a rich colonial heritage that's preserved in many 19th-century buildings. But there's something of a cultural revolution taking place in Dunedin.

Created in Dunedin by NHNZ and now broadcast in 20 countries, 'ZooMoo Animal Friends' was an instant hit in China when it first screened on CCTV during February's Spring Festival, with 250 million viewers tuning in for the weekly half-hour show.

"What ZooMoo provides is a sense of nature and the natural world and stories about the world around us and connecting kids with the environment. And I think that that's a real connector, with Kiwi kids, with Chinese kids, with kids from all over the world," said Kyle Murdoch, NHNZ Chief Executive.

The NH in 'NHNZ' stands for 'Natural History', and the production house has developed a global reputation with material screened in 180 countries - including China.

"We bring expertise in film-making and also our relationships with major Western broadcasters, and Chinese partners bring incredible stories," Murdoch said.

Another recent success story is 'China from Above' which was co-produced with Chinese production house, CITC, and National Geographic.

When it first aired last September, 130 million Chinese viewers and 50 million American viewers tuned in to watch rare aerial footage of China's landscape.

"What NHNZ provides with Chinese co-production partners is a sense of connecting China to the world," Murdoch said.

And more joint-venture productions with China are in the pipeline now that there's an official - world-first - co-production agreement with New Zealand.

The co-production agreement provides government funding for selected projects. But it also fast-tracks immigration procedures so that film crews and their equipment can enter China and New Zealand more easily.

Under the reciprocal arrangement, CCTV is producing a new series called 'Glamorous New Zealand' to highlight the amazing landscapes and natural products that New Zealand has to offer.

"To be able to then showcase that on CCTV to a viewership of hundreds of millions of people potentially, that's got to be beneficial for the New Zealand economy, it's got to be beneficial for New Zealand full-stop," Murdoch said.

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