China seeks ties of friendship with N.Z.

Press, 7 May 1984, Page 5

China seeks ties of friendship with N.Z.

China’s spirit of friendship for New Zealand is very strong, according to the Mayor of Christchurch, Sir Hamish Hay.

Sir Hamish returned from Gansu Province in China on Saturday evening. He led a good-will delegation of Christchurch City Councillors and staff on a threeweek visit to the province.

The visit was treated as important by the Gansu provincial government, Sir Hamish said. It was also given significance by the Chinese central Government and Sir. Hamish, as head of the delegation, had a 40minute interview with the Chinese Prime Minister, Mr Zhao Ziyang. Rewi Alley, the New Zealander who has spent much of his life in China and Gansu province joined Mr Zhao and Sir Hamish for the discussion.

Mr Zhao spoke about the possibility of the delegation assisting in providing expertise in the area of animal husbandry and agriculture.

“It was a mark of respect that Mr Zhao spoke to us for 40 minutes in a busy programme. He had farewelled President Reagan in the morning and had addressed the Army in the afternoon and spoke to us about 5.30 p.m.,” Sir Hamish said.

The subject of advice and expertise in agriculture was one that recurred in the discussions that members of the delegation had with various officials, Sir Hamish said.

“We split into groups to have discussions in four main categories — industry and farming, culture, education and sport, city government, and women and

youth,” he said. Crs Rex Arbuckle, Vicki Buck and Sir Hamish as well as Sir James Stewart, the former Lincoln College principal, focused on the first category, Crs Helen Garret, Louise Moore and Mollie Clarke on the second, the Town Clerk, Mr John Gray, on city government and Lady Hay and Mrs Small, the wife of the New Zealand Ambassador, on women and youth. The discussion consisted of two half-day sessions “so we covered quite a lot of ground,” Sir Hamish said.

Animal husbandry, agriculture and horticulture were subjects the Chinese returned to. Much of the help they wanted the delegation to provide fell outside the council delegation’s area, Sir Hamish said. “Really much of what they wanted fell into the farming sector. I hope to have early discussions with the Minister of Foreign Affairs and the Minister of Agriculture-to see what we can do. The New Zealand Ambassador whs a part of much of the discussion and will be able to initiate assistance.

“Among the things we talked about was equipment that the Chinese wanted. They have a number of large projects in mind but they also have the money to pay for them. The help of Sir James Stewart, who was in Gansu on a separate visit, was invaluable because of his practical experience in farming. “We had to point out that we, as a council, were not a rural council but that we would do all we could to influence the right people for assistance,” Sir Hamish

said. Some of the projects suggested by the Chinese were too large for the council to handle and would be referred to the Government. That included the idea of setting up another model farm in conjunction with the school established by Mr Alley in the province. Much of the respect extended to the Christchurch delegation reflected the esteem in which Mr Alley was held by the Chinese, Sir Hamish said. The day before the delegation arrived Mr Alley wrote a column in the “China Daily” emphasising the links between Gansu province and Christchurch. There were difficulties in establishing a link between a city and a province which was largely rural, Sir Hamish said.

“If we actually named a sister city it would be Lanzhou (the province’s capital) but what was confirmed was the friendship link between the people of Gansu and the people of Christchurch.”

This friendship was formally sealed with the signing of the Protocol of Friendship by Sir Hamish and the Governor of Gansu, Chen Guangyi. After the signing Sir Hamish planted a dragon spruce tree and unveiled a plaque in Lanzhou’s Spring Park. Mr Zhao planted a Ginkgo biloba tree when he visited Christchurch last year. Among other places visited by the delegation were the Provincial Museum, the Magao Grottoes at Dunhuang, Lanzhou University, the Imperial Palace, the Great Hall of the People and the Great Wall.

“We visited both the end

and the beginning of the Great Wall. Few people have visited both,” Sir Hamish said.

A television crew followed the New Zealanders round for the whole of their stay and the party frequently appeared on television and featured on radio. The crew made a documentary of the Christchurch party’s visit and this film will probably be brought to New Zealand by a group from Gansu who have been invited to visit Christchurch in November.

The Governor, Chen Guangyi, had been invited to come to Christchurch during Christchurch Show Week, the Mayor said. Sir Hamish said he believed the visit was worth while and the first of the kind to be made on behalf of a New Zealand city. “Hastings has a link with a city in the south but no other city has a link with China — yet. I’m sure other centres will want to.”

Gansu had expertise to offer Christchurch also.

“It is a two-way thing. Lanzhou has an air pollution problem similar to Christchurch. We could benefit from a visit by one of their pollution controllers. Christchurch is a city of cyclists and there are four million in China so I’m sure they could advise us on cycleways also.” Mr Alley had suggested teacher exchanges, Sir Hamish said. The three-week trip to Gansu was a starting point, Sir Hamish said. “It was a. constructive effort in people-to-people diplomacy. From here it is up to us and the people of Christchurch to make it work.”