New Zealand's Christchurch mayor seeks China support in quake recovery

The mayor of New Zealand's earthquake-battered second city of Christchurch will lead a business delegation to China next week in a bid to drum up business to help with the city's recovery.

Mayor Lianne Dalziel said Wednesday the 35-strong delegation would include representatives from the education, tourism and business sector with a view to strengthening ongoing and developing relations with Chinese partners.

The 19-day visit from March 16 could help successful Christchurch businesses develop and grow, Dalziel said in a statement.

"Developing these relationships for Canterbury businesses is vital at a time when our city's rebuild is gaining momentum and this gives us the opportunity to reiterate that Christchurch is open for business," she said.

The delegation would visit Chengdu, Lanzhou, Beijing, Shanghai, Shenzhen and Guangzhou.

On route, Dalziel would visit Japan as part of an official New Zealand to attend the Third UN World Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction in Sendai, where she would speak on three occasions about Christchurch's post-quake experience and lessons learned from the rebuild and recovery.

Christchurch suffered a series of major earthquakes from September 2010, including a 6.3-magnitude quake that killed 185 people in February 2011. Endi