The prime minister of New Zealand has stressed the importance of his country’s trade ties with China in a meeting with Chinese leader Xi Jinping.

New Zealand Prime Minister Christopher Luxon said on Friday he and China's President Xi Jinping discussed the role of business, education and science to help boost relations between the two countries.

On Monday, Xi was greeted by Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev and other senior officials at the airport in Astana. The Astana summit follows the inaugural May 2023 China–Central Asia Summit, which was held in Xi’an, the capital city of China’s Shaanxi province.