TAIPEI, Taiwan (AP) — New Zealand Prime Minister Chris Hipkins discussed his country’s interest in boosting economic ties with China during a meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing on Tuesday.

Hipkins said the focus of his meeting with Xi was to “reaffirm our close economic relationship by supporting businesses (to) renew their connections with Chinese counterparts and helping grow new ones to support New Zealand’s economic recovery.”

Hipkins is on a five-day visit to China, his first since becoming prime minister in January, along with a business delegation representing areas including tourism and education.

Before starting his visit, he described New Zealand’s relationship with China as a “critical part of our economic recovery.”

New Zealand officially entered a recession this month after its economy contracted for two consecutive quarters. Officials say China is key to three of New Zealand’s engines for post-pandemic economic recovery: exports, tourism and education.

China is New Zealand’s largest export market, and Wellington over the years has managed to maintain warmer ties to Beijing than some of its Western allies. New Zealand has issued critical statements about China’s human rights and foreign policy practices, but has generally experienced less friction with China than other countries in the region such as Australia.

Xi praised “the great importance” of China-New Zealand ties, saying Hipkins’ visit was “very meaningful,” according to the official Xinhua News Agency.

Earlier in the day, Hipkins attended a meeting of the World Economic Forum in the Chinese port city of Tianjin alongside other foreign officials and joined a signing ceremony for four New Zealand exporters and their Chinese counterparts, according to a statement from his office.

On Wednesday, he is to meet with Chinese Premier Li Qiang.