WELLINGTON, Aug. 3 (Xinhua) -- Australia and New Zealand trade ministers met in Auckland on Friday to strengthen trans-Tasman economic links under the two countries' Closer Economic Relations Trade Agreement (CER).

Australian Minister for Trade, Tourism and Investment Steven Ciobo and New Zealand Minister for Trade and Export Growth David Parker noted the strong trade and commercial links and special relationship between Australia and New Zealand, and underscored the effectiveness of the CER in demonstrating the advantages of liberalized trade, said a statement of the meeting.

Two-way trade between the two countries totaled 29.9 billion NZ dollars (20.1 billion U.S. dollars) in 2017, with two-way investment reaching 161.5 billion NZ dollars (108.7 billion U.S. dollars), it said.

The ministers rejected protectionism and agreed on the importance for both nations to continue collaborating to improve the work of the World Trade Organization, as well as to strengthen the rules-based trade architecture in the region, to benefit both Australian and New Zealand economies, the statement said.