The Dunedin City Council is hosting visitors from the New Zealand and Chinese Governments and council staff of other New Zealand cities to share information about doing business with China.
Members of the New Zealand Core Cities Network are in Dunedin today and tomorrow.
The Core Cities network, a partnership between the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment and Local Government New Zealand,
works with staff from the Auckland, Hamilton, Tauranga, Wellington, Christchurch and Dunedin city councils to build an understanding of the economic contribution and strengths of those cities.
Dunedin City Council business development adviser Margo Reid said one of the priorities for the group was improving engagement with China, which had led to a China engagement project.
Dunedin had a good track record in that area, and it was the city's turn to host a meeting of the network, Ms Reid said.
The group of 17 visiting Dunedin would look at getting members of the international relations teams across the six city councils, the North Asia division of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade, the China unit at New Zealand Trade and Enterprise and the cities team at the Ministry of Business Innovation and Employment working together to share information and co-operate on delegations, and develop a joint China engagement strategy identifying distinct areas of business focused on competitive advantage.
Visitors from the Chinese consul-general's office in Christchurch would speak to the group about doing business in China, and Otago Chamber of Commerce chief executive John Christie would speak about Project Shanghai. The group would also visit businesses doing business in China - Oritain, Scott Technology and the Otago Polytechnic.
