Mr Jin spent the day in South Canterbury yesterday, as one of his first trips outside of Christchurch since his arrival in New Zealand four months ago.
The main purpose of the trip was to visit Inner Mongolia Yili Industrial Group's (Yili) recently opened $236 million Oceania Dairy factory in Glenavy.
''This is one of the largest investments coming from China in New Zealand so I wanted to have a look at this project in order to have a better understanding of the progress that has been made and also the plan in the future,'' Mr Jin said.
''I wanted to ... get more knowledge about the Waimate region because this region is very important, not only for the future development of Oceania Dairy Ltd plant, but also in terms of the actual relationship between China and New Zealand.''
He said he was impressed by the ''smooth'' operation of the plant, enabled by the support from the Waimate District Council, the Chinese and the local business communities.
''I think we have already gota good starting point for further co-operation and this is something that I am quite glad to see,'' he said.
Mr Jin's trip included a visit to a local supplier to the Oceania Dairy factory.
''From this, I have a strong feeling that this project has contributed a lot to the local community and also to the local economic growth,'' he said.
China enjoyed a good relationship with New Zealand as a whole and Mr Jin said he hoped to develop a good relationship with each area of the South Island.
''To be frank with you, as [the Waimate district] has the Oceania factory ... we have more reasons to develop and have a more closer relationship between this region,'' he said.
He said the Chinese consulate encouraged investors to do business in line with New Zealand practices and contribute more to the local communities.
''Only by doing so they could prosper in the years to come,'' he said.
Mr Jin said he had also greatly enjoyed his first visit to the Waimate township and was particularly impressed by the good shape of the local economy.
Waimate Mayor Craig Rowley said it was part of the Waimate district's ''philosophy'' to encourage development from ''anybody, from anywhere''.
''As a district we're seeing those benefits from the investment that the Yili corporation has already made here and we're excited to see a paddock go from a green field to an operational dairy factory within two years.
''We're also very excited about the prospects over the next five years of the further development that has been agreed that the Yili corporation will be undertaking.''
