China, New Zealand reaping rewards of kiwifruit cooperation

Yili's assistant president Ignatius Szeto said that the strategic cooperation with Lincoln University is an important part of Yili's internationalization strategy.

"After more than 10 years of in-depth cooperation, Yili's industrial footprint in New Zealand now spans the entire industry chain, including milk source partnerships, innovation and R&D, production and manufacturing, and brand marketing," he said.

The company operates seven production bases and has established partnerships with over 400 local farms. Meanwhile, Yili has become the largest Chinese dairy company in New Zealand in terms of investment scale and cooperation scope, making it a classic example of Chinese dairy enterprises going global and providing valuable reference and methodology for other Chinese companies to expand internationally, he said.

Zhiqiang Li, managing director of Yili's Westland Milk Products and Oceania Dairy groups in New Zealand, said the company is "deeply honored to be part of research that advances health outcomes around the world through the important work of the Yili Innovation Centre Oceania and Lincoln University".

"We are enormously proud of the fact that work coordinated through the center with leading researchers is associated with nutrition policy at the highest level, including the Food and Agriculture Organization and World Health Organization of the United Nations, and that we have helped demonstrate that more sustainable farming practices, such as diverse species of forage, can lead to better health outcomes for people who consume dairy products," Li added.