“Alongside the renewed commitment to our people-to-people links, stands our ongoing commitment to our economic and trade ties, which are equally long and deep and important to us,” said Ardern.

“The FTA upgrade is a really important milestone for both countries, and shows the strength of our relationship,” she added.

According to the protocol signed on Tuesday, on the basis of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership, China will further expand its opening-up in sectors including aviation, education, finance, elderly care, and passenger transport to New Zealand to boost the trade of services.

For the trade of goods, the upgraded FTA will see both countries open their markets for certain wood and paper products and optimize trade rules such as rules of origin, technical barriers to trade and customs facilitation, China’s Ministry of Commerce said in an online statement.

New Zealand will lower its threshold for reviewing Chinese investment, allowing it to receive the same review treatment as members of the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership.

In 2008, China signed an FTA with New Zealand, the first deal of this kind between China and a developed country. China is currently New Zealand’s largest trading partner, the largest source country of foreign students, and second-largest source of foreign tourists.

The New Zealand public is also applauding the FTA upgrade. Many people believe that the bilateral ties are getting fresh impetus and gaining greater momentum, while others are looking forward to the future business opportunities that the FTA upgrade will bring along.

Chris Lipscombe, international business strategist, was excited to hear the news.

“It is a clear statement around cooperation, particularly a commitment to fair non-discriminatory and transparent relationships between the two countries,” Lipscombe said, adding that “this is a really positive step forward.”

Bill Dwyer, international business lawyer and head of China Desk, Tavendale & Partners, believed that the upgrade is a welcoming development particularly for New Zealand exporters.

A really important thing is that “both parties are making greater commitments to free trade,” said Dwyer.

Notably, Auckland employee in the financial sector Dale Singh thought the upgrade is amazing news for New Zealand’s economic recovery from COVID-19.

This FTA upgrade will “really benefit the economy” especially with this hit by the coronavirus pandemic, said Singh.

“The FTA upgrade brings certainty during the COVID-19 uncertainty. It will give New Zealand businesses more confidence to plan for the future,” said John Qin, director of a New Zealand honey exporting company.

“We will use this chance to upgrade our products, adding up more honey flavors especially for (the) Chinese market. Let Chinese consumers have more chance to taste high quality New Zealand honey,” said Qin.

“Any trade improvement between China and New Zealand will always have flow on benefits for all exporters, so we will benefit eventually. Any strengthening of trade relations between countries always benefits everyone in the longer term,” said Roy van den Hurk, who runs a dairy company in New Zealand.

“It will speed up the overall supply chain which will benefit the consumers by having fresher product. It will also reduce costs, which will benefit the consumers by having less expensive high quality products,” he added.

Meanwhile, Auckland University student Tama Payne said that “hopefully we could bring some services to China and hopefully we could get services back from China.”

“I think it will be good for all of us,” added Payne.

For example, will the COVID-19 vaccine prove successful? How will Brexit affect European markets and trade in the UK? What about bubbling geopolitical tensions between China and the US and Australia? And all the other question marks hovering over global economies, as laid out in Western Union’s report Are you ready for 2021?

There’s no way out but through, so here’s what to expect next year — and how to manage all the uncertainties.

Confidence high for a strong recovery

Begin with an assessment of 2020 and review how your domestic and export markets evolved. What similarities between your sales channels emerged and what lessons do they take into 2021? Can you through your reporting mechanisms, obtain clear view over pricing trends, inventory control and competitor’s activities. Reporting and the speed at which you report is key to weathering the changing landscape. The fluctuation and volatility of domestic, regional and international trade aren’t eliminated and there will be further hints of disruption along your sales and supply channels. You will need to remain agile in your approach and willing to continually evolve.

Moving forward, your capacity, resources and ability to scale will be tested. Consider how your financial situation has changed. Many businesses are still reigning in bad debt from 2020 and gaining control of cashflow will be critical to your success. Allow an assessment of your capacity to inform your financial plans for growth in 2021.

Next, look inward at your capabilities and how they have been stretched. We have seen new structures employed across a wide range of industries and the development of new expectations across workforces. Many businesses have become much flatter in decision making as they have adapted to the necessity of becoming more agile in decision making.

Where does your business rate on efficiency and speed of communication that is required for making strategic decisions? How are your teams placed and what is their attitude that they have returned with for 2021? The culture of your business has never been more important.

Businesses can no longer rely on old cultural structures; they must be cultures of accountability and learning in order to succeed. It is a business’s responsibility to rebuild staff capabilities to propel them towards the overall corporate objectives. With the world still changing, it’s time to realign.

Finally, a key activity across 2021 should be to assess and review your business’s digital position and data analytics. A digital position is no longer a choice, and most Australian exporters have not devoted adequate resources or skills to build a digital position. If you do not possess a strong digital position, then you will need to look outside of your organisation for the specific skills set. A digital position is a valuable investment and asset.

The ECA is focusing on developing skills and resources to assist exporters plan and measure their capabilities and capacities. These resources will be delivered through online training modules, webinars and face to face seminars. The ECA will also be offering a series of consulting and mentoring services to support businesses in 2021. If you would like to enquire about any of these services, please do not hesitate to contact the ECA at info@export.org.au