Internship provides China business insights
With a strong interest in Asia and having studied Mandarin for eight years, an internship at the New Zealand China Council was the perfect fit for University of Auckland student Libby Gane. Libby, who is majoring in Chinese, spent eight weeks interning with the NZCC, where she was involved in the council's focus group on climate change and electric vehicle technology development.
Libby: "...the internship made me develop my knowledge on how New Zealand industries interact with China, the process of supply chains and current challenges."
I originally applied for the New Zealand China Council internship because I saw it as a natural intersect between my passion for Chinese language, culture, and business.
I hoped to learn more about how New Zealand and China interact from an exporter and public sector perspective. Most importantly, I aimed to learn about what would be important to focus on for a career in this area.
The New Zealand China Council was set up by former prime minister John Key to provide a space where businesses involved with China and public officials could collaborate on areas of social, political and cultural importance. Significantly, as China was becoming increasingly important, the Council represented a combined public and private actor conglomerate to facilitate New Zealand’s relationship with this major partner.
During the course of my internship, I was lucky enough to be involved in the Council’s focus group on climate change, with a particular focus on collecting information on China’s electric vehicle technological development.
The focus group gave me the opportunity to research and learn from industry experts on the impact of EV technology in China, and the potential for this technology in New Zealand. In particular, I enjoyed learning about the widespread public transport EV systems in place in Chinese cities including Shenzhen, and the struggles and successes of implementing such a system.
I also attended the ATEPs conference, the Council’s annual meeting, transcribed the podcast collection, all opportunities that provided perspective on the role of New Zealand businesses coming out of Covid. A highlight of attending the conference was getting a combination of public and private sector insight into supply chain challenges. In particular, the perspective representatives of the Ministry of Transport and Air NZ provided.
Libby: "My internship has inspired me to seek out career opportunities with businesses with strong relationships with China."
While the disappointing circumstances of COVID-19 restrictions made entering the office and interacting in person difficult, the Council ensured I was able to form relationships with my other intern and the team through our calls.
Contributing to working groups and providing context for the Council’s podcast interviews required me to draw upon both my Chinese language knowledge, and my knowledge of the cultural and historical context for New Zealand’s relationship with China.
Beyond utilizing these skills, the internship made me develop my knowledge on how New Zealand industries interact with China, the process of supply chains and current challenges in the relationship.
While I enjoyed the wide exposure to different aspects of the NZ-China relationship, I most enjoyed hearing from private sector Council members on the struggles they were experiencing post-Covid, and how they were addressing these challenges.
My internship has inspired me to seek out career opportunities with businesses with strong relationships with China.
