New Zealand PM hopes to restore confidence in Chinese consumers
新西兰总理希望中国消费者重建信心
The New Zealand government has responded quickly to the Fonterra contaminated milk products scandal. In an interview with CCTV, Prime Minister John Key says New Zealand authorities will investigate the cause of the incident, and he hopes Chinese consumers will soon have their confidence restored in New Zealand products.
Prime Minister Key says the New Zealand government immediately informed supervision departments and media in affected countries, as soon as news surfaced about the contamination.
The government is now conducting a full investigation to find out who is responsible.
John Key said "As a country, New Zealand highly values the food safety records. It’s crucial for the products we sell. It’s why we receive for around the world. Fonterra also has the legal obligations that they need to meet. So clearly the government wants to understand if there is a faulty in the process, why it occurred, who is responsible, and what’s happening back there. And we also want to make sure that we can restore for international consumers as well as domestic consumers, and ensure that they have confidence in our products."
In terms of trade relations between China and New Zealand, the Prime Minister says China is now his country’s biggest trade partner.
And he hopes the incident will not harm that.
Meanwhile, Fonterra’s top executives have visited Parliament in Wellington to brief senior ministers and officials about the crisis and their own investigation.