Source: Eastern Institute of Technology
1 minute ago
By Lucy Laitinen
Before this year, I hadn’t fully appreciated how important our education partnerships with China are, not just for our institution, but for Hawke’s Bay and New Zealand. Two visits to China over the past two months have changed my perspective.
EIT Chief Executive Lucy Laitinen, New Zealand’s Minister for Vocational Education, Hon Penny Simmonds, and Qilu University of Technology (QLUT) Party Committee Secretary, Yantao Wu.
In June, I travelled to Shaoxing and Jinan to visit two of EIT’s long-standing education partners. At Zhejiang Yuexiu University (ZYU) in Shaoxing, EIT operates a joint institute where students graduate with both an EIT qualification and a ZYU degree in Computing or Creative Practice. At Qilu University of Technology in Jinan, we contribute to the delivery of wine education within their Bachelor of Brewing programme. During that visit, I attended graduation ceremonies and signed extensions to partnerships built over many years.
What struck me most was the extraordinary manaakitanga we received. The generosity, warmth and hospitality shown by our hosts was genuine and humbling.
The graduations also challenged some of my own assumptions. Like many New Zealanders, I had imagined Chinese students might be quiet and reserved. Instead, the ceremonies were vibrant, joyful and full of energy. I posed for more selfies over those two days than I had in the rest of my life.
The experience reminded me that, despite the distance between our countries, we share remarkably similar aspirations. Whether in Hawke’s Bay or China, educators want the same thing: to help people build better futures through education. Students want meaningful careers. Parents want their children to succeed. Those aspirations are universal.
Last week I returned to China as part of a delegation of New Zealand polytechnic leaders led by Hon Penny Simmonds, Minister for Tertiary Education, Science, Innovation and Technology. We met with education partners, student recruitment agencies, and a visit to electric vehicle manufacturer XPeng, which has recently entered the New Zealand market and is interested in partnering with our sector to train the technicians of the future.
One highlight was joining Minister Simmonds’ meeting with China’s Minister of Education, Huai Jinpeng, who spoke of his desire to strengthen educational cooperation between our two countries. His comments prompted me to reflect on an interesting question: what does a country of more than 1.4 billion people seek partnerships with institutions in a small region on the east coast of New Zealand?
The answer, I believe, is that our strengths complement each other.
China is placing increasing emphasis on vocational education, applied learning and graduate employability. These priorities closely align with New Zealand’s approach to tertiary education and EIT’s strengths in industry-connected learning. Our expertise in areas such as agriculture, food and wine, engineering, computing and creative arts is valued because it is practical, relevant and closely connected with employers.
This should give us confidence that regional New Zealand has a lot to offer the world. Partnerships like we have in China demonstrate that expertise developed in Hawke’s Bay has international relevance.
The benefits are tangible for Hawke’s Bay and flow directly back into our region. China is one of the region’s most important export markets for products including apples, meat, wine and wood products. As one of New Zealand’s most export-oriented regions, our prosperity is closely connected to international relationships. Education is part of that story. Chinese students studying at our Taradale and Auckland campuses support our local economy and communities, while revenue from our transnational partnerships with Chinese universities flows directly back into EIT, helping fund the delivery of education to learners across Hawke’s Bay and Tairāwhiti. These relationships also create opportunities for staff and students to learn from different approaches to teaching, technology, and industry.
These are not one-sided arrangements where one side teaches and the other learns. They are genuine partnerships in which both sides contribute, learn and benefit.
That does not mean we should ignore the differences between our countries, or the broader strategic and geopolitical questions that governments must navigate. Educational partnerships are not built on agreement about everything – instead, they are built on trust, shared interests and practical collaboration.
When I began this year as Chief Executive of EIT, I saw our international partnerships largely through an institutional lens. Two visits to China have broadened that perspective. I now see them as part of something much bigger: relationships that strengthen our region, deepen understanding between countries, and help ensure New Zealand remains connected to a rapidly changing world.
International education is often discussed in terms of student numbers and export revenue. Those things matter. But at its heart, this is a two-way relationship. We share our knowledge and expertise, and we gain new perspectives, ideas and opportunities in return. For Hawke’s Bay, and for New Zealand as a whole, that exchange is not simply valuable. It is an investment in our future.
Lucy Laitinen, Chief Executive of Te Aho a Māui | EIT.
Original source: https://nz.mil-osi.com/2026/08/10/a-two-way-relationship-why-china-matters-to-hawkes-bay/