Northland Regional Council is to sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) today with a Chinese state-owned enterprise on the hunt for investment opportunities.
Officials from China Railway Zhongji Holding Group are to sign the agreement at the council's Whangarei offices at 3pm.
Council chair Bill Shepherd said the MoU formalised an agreement to identify and develop business opportunities for the benefit of the Northland economy and its people.
However, he said, it did not identify specific projects the Chinese might be interested in investing in.
"One of council's roles is to advocate for economic development and attract investment and jobs into Northland," Mr Shepherd said.
"The MoU will make it easier to do that by providing potential Chinese investors with advice about who they should be talking to when they are looking at potential developments."
Mr Shepherd said the MoU currently had no financial implications for the council, but could possibly lead to investment opportunities in the future.
