Samoan Head of State Afioga Tuimalealiifano Vaaletoa Sualauvi II Meets with Wang Yi

On May 28, 2022 local time, Samoan Head of State Afioga Tuimalealiifano Vaaletoa Sualauvi II met with visiting State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi in Apia.

Tuimalealiifano asked Wang Yi to convey his sincere greetings to President Xi Jinping, spoke highly of China's world-renowned achievements under the leadership of the Communist Party of China (CPC), and wished the 20th National Congress of the CPC a full success. He said that Samoa and China enjoy a time-honored friendship and have built strong and close bilateral relations. The mutually beneficial cooperation between the two countries has scored fruitful results, proving the importance of the concept of equality and respect in state-to-state relations. Samoa looks forward to maintaining close high-level interaction with China, deepening mutual understanding and expanding practical cooperation to better benefit the two peoples.

Wang Yi conveyed President Xi Jinping's cordial greetings to Tuimalealiifano, saying that under the strong leadership of the CPC Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core, 95 million Party members have taken the lead and 1.4 billion Chinese people have worked hard to completely eliminate extreme poverty and achieved the poverty reduction target of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development 10 years ahead of schedule. China has embarked on a new journey toward the second centenary goal and is committed to achieving common prosperity. At the same time, China will work with developing countries to accelerate common development, defend fairness and justice and build a community with a shared future for mankind.

Wang Yi said that this year marks the 60th anniversary of Samoa's independence, which is of great significance to the country, the nation and its people. Samoa is one of the first Pacific Island Countries to establish diplomatic relations with China. Since the establishment of diplomatic ties nearly half a century ago, the two sides have always respected each other and treated each other as equals, and mutually beneficial cooperation between the two countries has brought benefits to the people of Samoa. The Chinese-aided Faleolo International Airport and the Pacific Games stadium have become local landmarks and the cultural center of Samoa, injecting new impetus into bilateral friendly exchanges. After the outbreak of the pandemic, China provided anti-pandemic materials to Samoa at the earliest time possible, helping Samoa effectively control the pandemic. China will also provide a new batch of rapid testing reagents to Samoa, and is willing to continue to support Samoa in fighting the pandemic until it is completely defeated.

Wang Yi stressed that China and Samoa are both developing countries, sharing similar historical experiences and facing common development tasks. At a time when unilateralism, power politics, hegemony and bullying are rampant, we are willing to strengthen solidarity and cooperation with developing countries, including Samoa, to jointly safeguard our legitimate rights and uphold true multilateralism, which is also the common expectation of the majority of developing countries.

The two sides also exchanged views on multilateral issues, and agreed to strengthen cooperation on green development and climate change response.