Hopes business can be kept separate from geopolitics at today's China Business Summit in Auckland

Key issues on the card include the Government's goal to double exports by value within 10 years, and the implications of expanding into other markets alongside China.

China makes up about 22 percent of our total exports, with two-way trade hitting almost 38-billion dollars last year.

But summit co-chair Simon Bridges says geopolitics will be the elephant in the room.

He says for us that will mean treading quite carefully and being deliberate in what we say and don't say.