□ Article / Journalist Xiong Yi Tr. by Gao Li

Donald Mckinnon, Chairman of the New Zealand China Council, Gave Such Remarks During His Visit to Chongqing:“Chongqing, a Must-see City”

□ Article / Journalist Xiong Yi Tr. by Gao Li

“It is our primary mission to propagandize China, of course,including Chongqing. People of New Zealand longing for China should know that Chongqing is a city worthy of going.” On September 13th, Donald Mckinnon, Chairman of the New Zealand China Council, also former deputy prime minister and foreign minister, John Mckinnon, New Zealand ambassador to China and Kong Sida, Consul-General in Chengdu met with the press and expressed their wonderful impressions on Chongqing.

On that day, Liu Guiping, deputy mayor of Chongqing, met with Donald Mckinnon and his party. Li Qian, deputy secretary of Chongqing municipality, and Wu Kangming, director of foreign affairs organization, also attended this meeting.

This year marks the 45th anniversary of diplomatic relations between China and New Zealand, with trade and economic ties getting more and more strengthened. On March, China signed a memorandum on the Belt and Road initiative with the New Zealand government, which is the first cooperation document that China signed with a South Paci fi c country under the framework of the Belt and Road initiative. As an important strategic base of the Western Development, Chongqing is a signi fi cant joint for the Belt and Road initiative and National Yangtze Economic Belt Strategy. Donald Mckinnon held that the Belt and Road initiative can link more countries together and lower the cross-border transaction cost of commodities and service so as to realize a win-win future. Besides,he expected that the Belt and Road initiative will exert positive in fl uence on more countries and regions.

Departing from Yichang by cruise, Donald McKinnon and his party arrived in Chongqing was profoundly impressed by the picturesque scenery along the Yangtze Gorges.

“Chongqing, quite different from coastal cities, is a unique city surrounded by mountains, which shares a similarity with New Zealand.” During this visit, Donald Mckinnon went to the Three Gorges Museum, Stilwel Museum, Ciqikou, (an ancient cultural town in the suburbs of Chongqing). The quality tourism resources in the Yangtze Gorges and this metropolis with hills and waters attract Donald Mckinnon who thus had a special interest in Chongqing.

“ Though the population of New Zealand is just one-eighth of that of Chongqing, this will not set a barrier for their tourism cooperation.The unique natural scenery and local custom of Chongqing are strong attraction for the people of New Zealand.” Donald Mckinnon made speci fi c mention of the people of New Zealand who are quite attached to delicious food across the world, therefore Chongqing hotpot and delicious food will surely shock their taste buds if they come to the city.

Donald Mckinnon said that New Zealand China Council is not an of fi cial government institution, but members of this council are elite from all walks of life covering commerce and trade, education,culture, science and technology and physical education, which provides an important platform for promoting the great potential and opportunity for cooperation between China and New Zealand to the people of New Zealand. Donald Mckinnon said, “The past 10 years had witnessed the fast-growing relations between the two countries and also the rapid trade growth, which brings a great impact on the development of New Zealand and should receive the concern of people of New Zealand.”

Donald McKinnon believes that tourism has been an important fi eld for China-New Zealand relations. According to statistics, about 18,000 Chongqing citizens chose New Zealand as their destination,and Chongqing also received nearly 9,000 visitors from New Zealand in 2016. At the end of last year, Chongqing opened routes directly to Auckland; in May of 2017, New Zealand opened multipleentry visas in fi ve years for Chinese people.

2019 marks the China-New Zealand tourist year, Donald Mckinnon expressed his expectation that more Chinese citizens may go for a visit to New Zealand. He also suggested that by taking this opportunity Chongqing should promote its tourism resources like the Yangtze Gorges to the people of New Zealand. Finally he said,“More and more tourists from New Zealand will be expected to Chongqing to feel its unique charm of this scenic city.”