China and New Zealand have agreed to conclude their negotiations on Free Trade Area (FTA) in one or two years.

Visiting Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao and New Zealand Prime Minister Helen Clark made the announcement after their talks.

The deal should be "comprehensive, high-quality, balanced and acceptable for both," Wen, who was on an official visit to New Zealand, told press on Thursday.

The negotiations, already lasting for six years, "has entered a critical phase" and will "touch upon certain sensitive issues, including agriculture and service sectors." However, all these " are not difficulties unsummontable."

Should the two sides adopt an attitude of equality, mutual benefit, mutual compromise, the difficulties can be overcome, he said.

"This shows the resolve of statesmen and willingness of the people," he said.

Give the FTA deal be signed, New Zealand would become the first developed country to reach such a deal with China.

New Zealand has already taken three "firsts" among the developed country, which are the first to sign bilateral agreement on China's WTO admission; the first to recognize China's market economy status and the first to launch FTA talks with China.

China "hopes New Zealand to strike more firsts in term of its relations with China," Wen said.

Clark listed other achievements reached on the talks: the setup of annual meeting mechanism between leaders of the two countries, either in the other's capital or in international meetings or multi-lateral occasions; close collaboration in APEC and at the East Asian Summit; new links to China after the launching of non- stop flight between Auckland and Shanghai; and New Zealand's participation in the World Expo, due to be held in Shanghai.

On Taiwan issue, Clark reiterated that the New Zealand government observed the one-China policy and opposed any effort to separate Taiwan from China.

In a luncheon to welcome Wen, Clark said "We marvel at the sheer magnitude of China's growth, and the dramatic development is unleashing. New Zealand can be both a contributor to and a beneficiary of China's growth and development."

In New Zealand, the third-leg of Wen's four-nation tour, both sides have agreed to hone a relationship of all-round cooperation with mutual benefits and win-win outcome. The two sides also agreed to jointly fight against trans-national crimes, expand mutual investment in agriculture and animal husbandry.

The two prime ministers also witnessed signing of four cooperative documents, including: a treaty on mutual legal assistance in criminal matters, a cultural agreement, a protocol on veterinary and sanitary requirements for edible dear products to be exported from New Zealand to China, and a memorandum of understanding on cooperation in education and training between the two countries.

More concentration was focused on the education deal. New Zealand is host to nearly 30,000 Chinese students studying at many levels. "Today Premier Wen and I have agreed on a new initiative for cooperation on high-level educational research and vocational training," Clark said.

The signing of a commercial deal also drew wide attention. Fonterra, a giant of New Zealand's diary industry, gets greenlight for forming a China joint venture. It will take 43 percent of stake in the Chinese diary company Sanlu. The exact amount of investment involved has yet be revealed.

William McQiu, a diary industry expert, said "the deal reflects the fact the New Zeand diary industry have great opportunities to exploit their expertise in all areas of the business from milk collection to consumer goods in the vast China market."

Source: Xinhua