#1. We’re recruiting - Come join the team at the YA!
Are you interested in gaining experience managing projects, learning more about international relations, sprucing up your Chinese, and working with an incredible group of people in the NZ-China space?
If your answer is yes, then join our amazing team!
Our subcommittees include Operations, Marketing, Technology and Communities - all of which we’re hiring volunteers for!
We’re aiming to induct and upskill new recruits in time for our 2022 YA Planning Day at the end of November, so keep on eye out on social media this October for info about how to apply. November to January is looking quieter for the YA, but we’ll be kicking right back into action from February 2022!
In the meantime, if you aren’t already a YA member on Patreon, register here for to become one and receive exclusive access to our content!
#2. Culture Desk: “INKED” - Aotearoa’s First Bilingual Chinese-English Series
Happy NZ Chinese Language Week!
This year we have been gifted with “Inked”! Yes, you read that headline correctly. This NZ On Air-funded series is spoken predominantly in Mandarin, and features both English and Chinese subtitles - the first of its kind made on Kiwi soil. Also known by its Chinese title, “半的绊 “, the show tells the story of Jiayue Qiu, a 22-year old pharmacy student secretly apprenticing at a tattoo studio in Auckland, while she struggles to connect with her unhappy father. Inked premiered on Prime TV just this Tuesday 28th September. It is available for streaming on Sky Go from Wednesday 29th September, and on Neon from Thursday 7th October.
Watch the trailer here!
#3. Business Desk: A Massive Bid for APAC Trade
September marked a big opportunity for growth in the APAC region, with China putting forward its bid to join the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP). If successful, China's entry will open up opportunities for the eleven nations already part of the agreement on a scale far greater than that offered by existing pacts, such as RCEP.
Unlike traditional trade agreements, however, the CPTPP takes further measures to ensure economies uphold certain standards regarding intellectual property, labour, state-owned enterprises, ESG (environmental, social and corporate governance), and investment for member states. In exchange, members enjoy “right of origin” access to each other. This not only reduces tariffs - making international trade easier - but also ensures smaller countries like New Zealand are treated on a fair and even playing field relative to other developed and developing nations.
For China to formally make a request to join the CPTPP is a big step for trade in APAC. It signals China’s willingness to open up trade and adjust its relationships with other nations in the region. The next step of the process is for a working group of the current CPTPP nations to evaluate and scrutinise the request, with the final decision made by the CPTPP commission.
For New Zealand in particular, the CPTPP nations account for 30% of NZ’s goods and service exports. Furthermore, it opens our economy up to four markets with whom we currently lack bi-lateral trade agreements.
Read more on the benefits of the CPTPP for New Zealand here, and its impact for New Zealand here.