Old Friends

The festivities around the FTA in Beijing have led to a gathering of old China hands and those who have been working on the NZ China relationship for many years. According to our correspondent one of those in attendance at a couple of gatherings was the former Chinese Ambassador to New Zealand Chen Mingming. Chen advised our correspondent that he will soon be heading off as Chinese Ambassador to Sweden. He seemed delighted at the news that Winston Peters (should he still be Minister) will be announcing at the same time as the Budget that New Zealand will be opening an Embassy in Sweden. Chen hopes that New Zealand's first resident Ambassador to Sweden will be someone he knows.