Peter Gardner, 25, was arrested in November after allegedly trying to smuggle 40kg of methamphetamine out of the country.
Customs officials found the drugs in two bags being checked in at Guangzhou airport.
Gardner's trial is scheduled to begin in Guangzhou Municipal Intermediate Court on Thursday and is not expected to last more than two days.
If convicted, Gardner, a dual New Zealand and Australian citizen, could face execution by firing squad.
On his recent trip to China, New Zealand Foreign Minister Murray McCully met with his counterpart, Wang Yi, in Beijing.
"I raised New Zealand's strong opposition to the death penalty when I met with the Chinese foreign minister in Beijing," Mr McCully said in a statement to AAP.
"It would be inappropriate to discuss specific details, particularly in relation to a case currently proceeding through the courts."
It's understood Gardner, who lives in Sydney with his family, travelled to China on his New Zealand passport.
The Sydney woman he was travelling with, 22-year-old Kalynda Davis, was also detained before she was unexpectedly released without charge in December, after a month in custody.
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