After leaving the political chaos of Thailand behind Prime Minister John Key begins his official visit to China tomorrow night (NZT).
Mr Key is scheduled to meet President Hu Jintao at the Great Hall of the People in his first major bilateral visit since taking office and he is enthusiastic about the trip.
"That's a reflection of the opportunities that exist between New Zealand and China. There are enormous links already in place. The signing of the trade deal provides us with an entry into China's markets, the people to people links already exist but the potential is just tremendous," Mr Key said.
It is also expected that the role of Fonterra in the Chinese contaminated milk scandal will be raised.
The first case of poisoned milk that came to light was from one of Fonterra's joint venture partners in China -- San Lu.
Some infants died and many hundreds more were taken ill after it was discovered that many dairy companies were processing contaminated milk.
Mr Key said the issue would be discussed but he understood there was an acceptance of what took place.
One of the ironies is that since the milk scandal became public New Zealand's direct dairy exports to China have greatly increased as Chinese household seek safe food.
Trade in general will also be high on the agenda as the two countries discuss the trade deal with them one year after it came into effect.
The early years of the treaty have a limited impact on most goods New Zealand sends to China, but early indications are that both countries are exporting more too each other A difficult issue for New Zealand prime ministers in the past has been tackling China's human rights record without chilling relations by causing outright offence.
"We are not going to shy away from the issues of human rights, we have always articulated our views on this matter and will do so in this visit, but it is also important to use this visit to extend our friendship and relationship," Mr Key said.
On Wednesday Mr Key continues his visit to Beijing meeting Premier Wen Jiabao after giving a speech to Peking University.
On Thursday and Friday, he will travel to Shanghai for a business focused visit.
