China and New Zealand have experience and expertise to share in responding to climate change, New Zealand Climate Change Minister Paula Bennett said after bilateral talks in Wellington Friday.
Bennett met with China's top official for climate change, Zhang Yong, Vice Chairman of China's National Development and Reform Commission, for the first ministerial dialogue under the New Zealand-China Climate Change Cooperation Arrangement Memorandum signed by the two countries' leaders in 2014.
"China is a key player in the global response to climate change and the implementation of China's commitments under the Paris Agreement will be critical for its success," Bennett said in a statement.
"Mr. Zhang's extended visit to New Zealand so soon after the Paris Agreement entering into force underscores New Zealand's standing within the international climate change community and the prospects for greater bilateral cooperation."
The dialogue built on positive discussions last November with senior Chinese representatives at the COP 22 climate change negotiations in Marrakech, said Bennett.
