WELLINGTON - A planned joint China-New Zealand food research center will bring scientific and economic benefits to both countries, the head of a New Zealand government research institute said Friday.

The center would see New Zealand's AgResearch collaborating with China's largest State-owned food company and the largest university food science and nutrition research department.

AgResearch had signed a collaboration arrangement earlier this month in Beijing with the Nutrition and Health Research Institute within the China Oils and Foodstuffs Corporation (COFCO) and with the College of Food Science and Nutritional Engineering of China Agriculture University (CAU).

They would explore opportunities to work together formally in the name of a "joint international research center for food science to promote international exchange, research and productivity, with a particular focus on further enhancing a China-New Zealand relationship."

The arrangement is aimed to initiate activities of mutual benefit in terms of knowledge development, scientific and technological innovation and economic benefit, said AgResearch chief executive Tom Richardson.

"Some of the key research areas where AgResearch expects to work closely with COFCO and CAU are food science, processing, food assurance and safety, and human nutrition," Richardson said.

The relationship with such influential institutions opened up a host of opportunities in the world's most populous country for AgResearch, and for agriculture and agribusiness in New Zealand.

"We are fortunate to have world-class scientists in New Zealand. Being able to reach out and work with some of the best scientists elsewhere in the world bolsters what we are doing, and what we can offer to enhance industry here," he said.