Wellington - The New Zealand Parliament formally approved a free trade agreement with China Thursday, marking what Trade Minister Phil Goff dubbed a "historic advance" in the country's trading relationships.

Goff said the agreement, which passed in a 104-17 vote, would come into force on October 1. It was eventually expected to lift New Zealand's exports to China - its fourth largest market - by 180 million to 280 million US dollars a year.

New Zealand became the first developed country to conclude a free trade pact with China in April when Prime Minister Helen Clark and her Chinese counterpart, Wen Jiabao, attended its signing in Beijing.

The pact provides for long periods of transition to enable sensitive industries on both sides to adapt to the added competition that is to come from the abolition of import taxes.

About one-third of New Zealand's exports to China are to become duty-free later this year, another third in five years and 96 per cent of products would be tariff-free by the end of the transition period in 2019.

New Zealand's remaining duties on Chinese carpets, clothing and shoes would be phased down to zero by 2016.

New Zealand's Labour-led coalition government ignored calls by pro-Tibet campaigners at home to snub Beijing over its crackdown this spring on Tibetans demonstrating against Chinese rule. It completed the agreement after 15 rounds of negotiations over three years. (dpa)