Chinese Language Week bridging gap between NZ, China

  • 12/09/2016
This week will be filled with events dedicated to get more New Zealanders learning Chinese (Getty)
This week will be filled with events dedicated to get more New Zealanders learning Chinese (Getty)

It's Chinese language week in New Zealand, with Kiwis being urged to learn a bit more about our number one trading partner.

The week is all about bridging the cultural gap between China and New Zealand.

Co-chair of New Zealand Chinese Language Week Jo Coughlan says the focus is getting more New Zealanders learning Mandarin.

"Now that our country has such a big trade relationship with China, we just feel it was a good opportunity to get people to focus more on not just the language but also cultural values of Chinese and doing business with Chinese," she says.

Ms Coughlan says there will be a number of events around the country people can go to, to learn more about Chinese.

She says it's something that's becoming increasingly important for the country.

"It's really just an opportunity to have one week of the year where there can be a range of activities across the country."

Ms Coughlan says learning the language will help a lot with business with China, and on average Kiwis know very little about Chinese culture.

"It's important that people have some sort of understanding of some of the different cultural values and some of the language values associated with Chinese."

Newshub.