Wang Yi: The Comprehensive Strategic Partnership between China and Pacific Island Countries Will Surely Achieve Steady and Sustained Growth

On May 30, 2022 local time, State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi and Fijian Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Josaia Voreqe Bainimarama co-chaired the second China-Pacific Island Countries Foreign Ministers' Meeting in Suva.

Wang Yi said, mutual respect is the norm for China to develop relations with Pacific Island Countries (PICs), and common development is the goal of China's cooperation with PICs. To advance bilateral relations and better benefit the people, China will make efforts in the following six aspects:

First, strengthen political communication. It is China's consistent stance that all countries, big or small, strong or weak, rich or poor, are equal. PICs have the right to achieve peace, development and prosperity, their people have the freedom to pursue a better life, and their future and destiny can only be determined by PICs themselves. When developing relations with PICs, China never interferes in their internal affairs and never seeks so-called "spheres of influence".

Second, forge ahead hand in hand on the path of development. China is ready to work with PICs to jointly implement the Global Development Initiative, and promote the realization of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development as scheduled. China will continue to provide economic development assistance within its capacity for PICs, better align the Belt and Road Initiative with regional cooperation initiatives among PICs and their respective national development strategies, deepen mutually beneficial cooperation in fields such as infrastructure, agriculture, forestry, fisheries, energy and minerals, information and communication, and e-commerce, and support more exports of PICs' quality specialties such as agricultural products to China.

Third, render PICs utmost assistance in fighting the pandemic. China will provide support for the China-Pacific Island Countries Anti-COVID-19 Cooperation Fund, and will continue to offer vaccines, testing reagents, protective gear and other anti-pandemic materials to PICs. China will give full play to the role of the China-Pacific Island Countries emergency supplies reserve and will set up sub-reserves in PICs.

Fourth, take the lead in addressing climate change. Climate change is the most realistic and pressing challenge facing PICs. China will continue to render help and support to PICs within the framework of South-South cooperation to enhance their capacity to tackle climate change, provide climate-related supplies for PICs through the China-Pacific Island Countries Climate Action Cooperation Center, and train talents in the field of climate change for PICs. China will continue to support the work of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme and stands ready to jointly call on developed countries to take the lead in stepping up their actions and fulfill their financial commitments as soon as possible.

Fifth, promote exchanges and mutual learning in cultural and people-to-people affairs. China will follow through on its commitments to provide 2,500 government scholarships and 3,000 seminar and workshop opportunities to PICs from 2020 to 2025. China's Luban Workshop will offer the first batch of 20 vocational and technical education opportunities for PICs students. China will enhance pair-up cooperation with PICs at sub-national levels and implement a new batch of livelihood projects. In the next five years, in light of the development of the pandemic, China's Guangdong Province will dispatch ten medical teams and five to ten cultural and art troupes to PICs for health visiting and performance tours.

Sixth, enhance international solidarity and coordination. China is ready to strengthen coordination and cooperation with PICs at the United Nations and other multilateral institutions, uphold true multilateralism and jointly safeguard the legitimate rights and interests of developing countries, especially small and medium-sized countries. We should uphold the vision of common, comprehensive, cooperative and sustainable security, and jointly promote peace, security and stability in the South Pacific region and the world at large. China calls on countries inside and outside the region to take concrete actions to safeguard the international nuclear non-proliferation regime based on the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, earnestly respect the South Pacific Nuclear-Free Zone with the South Pacific Nuclear Free Zone Treaty at its core, and protect the blue Pacific.

Wang Yi stressed, China will continue to heed the call of PICs and their people, and respect the existing cooperation mechanisms and arrangements in the PICs region. As long as we continue to make efforts in line with the principles of mutual respect, treating each other as equals, mutually beneficial cooperation, openness and inclusiveness, the comprehensive strategic partnership between China and PICs will surely achieve steady and sustained growth, bear more fruits and benefit the people of the PICs.