The governor of New Zealand's central bank on Monday warned the country must carefully manage growing trade relations with China, as Wellington moved to tighten foreign investment rules.

New Zealand's government announced Monday it will place new controls on overseas investors buying large land holdings, reacting to growing public concern that the country is selling too much farm land to foreigners.

New Zealand's economy grew 0.2 percent in the three months to June, official data showed Thursday, falling well short of market expectations.

New Zealand's central bank left the official interest rate on hold at 3.0 percent Thursday, saying the Christchurch earthquake had significantly disrupted economic activity. Reserve Bank of New Zealand Governor Alan Bollard said the 7.0-magnitude quake that hit Christchurch on September 4 was likely to result in a spike in headline inflation.

New Zealand's unemployment rate jumped from 6.0 percent to 6.8 percent during the June quarter, unwinding much of the drop recorded in the previous three months and indicating a period of volatility in the labor market, Statistics New Zealand reported on Thursday.

New Zealand received more than 2.5 million foreign visitors within 12 months for the first time in the year ending June 30, according to official figures released Wednesday.

New Zealand's inflation eased in recent months as sharply lower food prices brought the annual rate down to 1.8 percent in the June quarter, official data released Friday showed.

New Zealand's Prime Minister John Key said Monday he anticipated a big boost to ties with communist Vietnam from a new round of regional trade pacts.

New Zealand said China may become its largest trading partner, overtaking Australia, as it seeks to double trade between the countries to NZ$20 billion (US$14 billion) in five years.

New Zealand's export-led recovery may be stalling, according to a business confidence survey released yesterday.