Comprehensive development of China-New Zealand relations and expanding exchanges and cooperation between China and the consular district have taken place since the two countries established diplomatic relations in 1972.

President Hu Jintao visited the consular district during his state visit to New Zealand in October 2003. Ever since then, nearly one hundred high ranking officials have visited the consular district, including Chairman Wu Bangguo of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress (NPC), Premier Wen Jiabao of the State Council, Mr. He Guoqiang, former Member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and Minister of Organization Department of the CPC Central Committee, Vice-Premier Zeng Peiyan of the State Council, Vice- Chairman Jiang Zhenghua, Xu Jialu, Uyunqimg, Yan Junqi, Chen Zhili of the Standing Committee of the NPC, Vice-Chairman Luo Haocai of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), Mr. Liu Yunshan, Member of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee. Many Mayors from the consular district have visited China, including Mr. John Banks of Auckland City, Mr. Bob Harvey of Waitakere City, Mr. Neil Sinclair of South Waikato District, Mr. Wayne Brown of Far North District, Mr. John Tregidga of Hauraki District, Mr. Stan Semenoff of Whangarei District, Mr. Mark Ammon of Waitomo District and more. The two-way visits have greatly promoted China's relations with the consular district.

China is the second largest trade partner and the fourth largest export destination of New Zealand. The consular district, being the locomotive of the national economy, conducts most of business and trade with China. Of all the New Zealand business firms which have cooperation with China, 90% have their headquarters in the consular district and they generate 60% of the China-New Zealand trade total. Since 1989, about 20 China-New Zealand joint ventures have been set up in New Zealand, engaging mainly in the fields of forestry, real estate, garment, import and export, finance, ocean shipping, construction, food and beverage. Most of the joint ventures are profitable and expanding. The Chinese companies, such as the China Minmetals NZ LTD and COSCO New Zealand LTD are locally based. The New Zealand-China Trade Association which has hundreds of member companies is also based in Auckland. The FTA signed in April 2008 by the governments of China and New Zealand is of great significance for bilateral cooperation and trade. There are over 30 business delegations from China visiting the consular district annually, and many delegations are sent to China by the local governments in the consular district to take part in China Import and Export Fair every year. The trade fair promotion was successfully held in Auckland in March 2009.

Air New Zealand began to operate the direct flights Auckland to Shanghai and Beijing on 6th November 2006 and 19th July 2008 respectively. China is New Zealand's fourth largest source of international tourists. Auckland is the gateway of New Zealand for Chinese tourists.

The University of Auckland, the Auckland University of Technology and the Massey University established "Three Brothers" collaborative mechanism with the Tsinghua University, the Qinghai University, the Shanghai Jiao Tong University, the Xinjiang University, the Beijing University and the Xinjiang Shihezi University in China. The Confucius Institute of the University of Auckland was set up in February 2007. The New Zealand Centre in the Beijing University, which was jointly initiated by the University of Auckland and the Beijing University, was established in May 2007. The Auckland Institute of Studies is run in cooperation with the Chinese counterparts. China Scholarship Council held the China Education Exhibition for the third time in Auckland in November 2007. Delegations from universities in the consular district visit China each year, participating in the Education Exhibition Tour organized by the New Zealand Ministry of Education, and over 60 Chinese educational delegations visit New Zealand yearly. China is the largest source of international students of New Zealand, and the Chinese students in the consular district account for over half of the total Chinese students in the country.

Many cultural exchange activities are taking place every year. The Chinese cultural delegations came to deliver cultural performance in Auckland on the occasion of the Moon Festival, the Chinese National Day, and the Chinese New Year's Day. In 2008, China National Museum and China's Broadcasting and Television Group visited the consular district; Chinese violinists Li Chuanyun and Ning Feng respectively held concerts in Auckland; "Chongqing Cultural Week" was held in Auckland, Many high-level art troupes including the Chongqing Art Group, the Shaolin Martial Art Performing Group, and the Returned Overseas Chinese Art Troupe of Guangzhou performed in Auckland. In the same year, the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra (NZSO) visited China and the fourth New Zealand Movie Festival was held in Beijing and Shanghai.

Since October 2005, China's tracking ship "Yuanwang 2" has paid a few visits to the Port of Auckland. The Chinese naval ships visited the Port of Auckland in October 2007. China's scientific research ship "Dayang 1" visited the Port of Auckland the following year.

City relations keep growing in recent years. The Chinese cities of Guangzhou, Ningbo, Wuxi, Xi'an, Suzhou, Qingdao and the Liaoning Province have been twinned or tied with the cities of Auckland, Waitakere, Hamilton, Taupo, North Shore and Far North. The port of Shanghai is also related with the port of Auckland.

The New Zealand-China Friendship Society has its three branches in Auckland, Orewa and Hamilton.

Over 100,000 Chinese live in the consular district, accounting for about 80% of the Chinese living in New Zealand. About 32.6% of them are from mainland China, 20.3% are from the Hongkong SAR, 19.7% are from Taiwan Province and the other 27.4% are from the Southeast Asia. Most of the oversea-Chinese in the consular district live in the Auckland Region.