Chinese foreign minister points to Solomons as ‘model for mutual trust’ at start of Pacific tour
- Wang Yi is on a 10-day trip aimed at expanding Beijing’s military, economic and diplomatic ties in the region
- He sought to play down fears of a military presence in the nation under new security pact, according to Xinhua
The 10-day, eight-nation trip is aimed at expanding China’s long-term military, economic and diplomatic ties and is seen as an effort to counter Washington’s Indo-Pacific strategy.
Meeting the archipelago’s acting governor general Patteson Oti, Wang praised Honiara’s 2019 decision to end 36 years of official ties with Taipei and establish diplomatic relations with Beijing as “a historical inevitability”, according to Chinese state news agency Xinhua.
Wang sought to play down concerns about a potential Chinese military presence in the Solomons, the report said, without giving further details. He said bilateral ties had achieved “tangible” results with stronger “all-round development” and “mutual political trust”.
He also set the tone for the tour, which will include a stop in Fiji on Monday, where Beijing hopes to sign a wide-ranging agreement and five-year action plan with regional foreign ministers.
“China will continue to uphold the spirit of South-South cooperation of mutual support and mutual assistance, and help the people in the countries improve their living standards and accelerate development and revitalisation,” he said.
