New Zealand's South Island on Friday night marked the 50th anniversary of the diplomatic ties between China and New Zealand and the 125th anniversary of the birth of Rewi Alley, a New Zealand-born writer, social reformer and educator.

Alley had spent 60 years living and working in China before he died in 1987 in Beijing.

Alley left a valuable spiritual legacy to both China and New Zealand that deserves to be carried forward in the new era, Chinese Consul General in Christchurch He Ying told a reception of New Zealand and Chinese guests in Christchurch, the largest city of the South Island.

This year marks the 50th anniversary of China-New Zealand diplomatic relations, which is an important milestone, He said, adding that over the past 50 years, China and New Zealand have strengthened mutual political trust, and increased economic and trade cooperation.

China and New Zealand have become closer in people-to-people exchanges, which has promoted the mutual understanding between the two countries, He said.

"The two countries have strong complementarities and broad prospects for cooperation," she said.

At Friday's reception, Christchurch Mayor Phil Mauger said, "We as a city and a region have relations with China that are steeped in history. They are underpinned by people-to-people connections that have stood the test of time, like those that Rewi Alley forged through his life and work."

Alley was born in Springfield near Christchurch in the South Island of New Zealand in 1897.

Through Alley's help, local farmers in China's Gansu Province learned industrial skills such as driving and maintaining trucks in the 1940s, a critical time for the liberation of China. Alley also trained early oil workers for Yumen Oilfield in Gansu, the earliest oilfield exploited in China.

The Christchurch-Gansu link was initiated in 1984 by Alley, who likened the landscape of the northwestern China to his hometown Christchurch.

The reception was attended by New Zealand MPs, members of local Chinese communities, mayors and New Zealanders working on bilateral exchanges. 

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