On April 21, China and New Zealand agreed to amend their air services agreement so that their airlines can establish commercial code-share arrangements.

Annette King, New Zealand's Minister of Transport, made the announcement after meeting with Yang Yuanyuan, Minister of the General Administration of Civil Aviation of China (CAAC).

"Yang and I agreed that China and New Zealand will implement from this month a change to our 1993 air services agreement to facilitate code-share arrangements," King told Chinese reporters.

"The new code-share arrangements will boost tourism and business travel between the two countries," King said.

According to official statistics, New Zealand received 114,000 visitors from China in the year to March, a 26 percent growth year-on-year.

"This growth is extremely positive for tourism, business and people-to-people contacts, and I want to see it continue," the Minister said.

Air New Zealand's Greater China General Manager, Peter Elmsly, said that the official announcement meant the airline could explore new routes in cooperation with Chinese carriers.

Air New Zealand launched direct Auckland-Shanghai services in November 2006, a "milestone" for the airline and for direct travel between New Zealand and China.

Air New Zealand plans to increase its Auckland-Shanghai services from three to five flights a week from November 2007.