Prime Minister of Papua New Guinea James Marape Meets with Wang Yi

On June 3, 2022 local time, Prime Minister of Papua New Guinea (PNG) James Marape met with State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi in Port Moresby.

Marape warmly welcomed Wang Yi's visit and recalled with pleasure his visit to China in February this year to attend the opening ceremony of the Olympic Winter Games Beijing 2022 on behalf of Pacific Island Countries and his fruitful and friendly exchanges with Chinese leaders. PNG admires the remarkable achievements China has made in its development and appreciates that China has accomplished its goal of poverty alleviation as scheduled and enabled its people to live a better life. PNG highly recognizes that developing countries have the same legitimate right to development. The Belt and Road Initiative proposed by China has brought extensive benefits to developing countries including PNG. He thanked China for its great support to PNG in accelerating development, especially in infrastructure construction.

Marape said, the important consensus reached by the two sides is becoming a reality, and the two countries have established strong political relations and close economic and trade ties. PNG firmly pursues the one-China principle and its friendship with China has become the consensus of the ruling and opposition parties. PNG has learned from China's development experience to set up special economic zones and yielded positive results. PNG will continue to dedicate itself to deepening practical cooperation between the two countries, accelerating the negotiation and conclusion of the free trade agreement and facilitating Chinese enterprises to invest in PNG.

Wang Yi said, PNG is a bellwether of regional development and the "locomotive" of cooperation between China and South Pacific Island Countries. Bilateral relations have stood the test of the international landscape, and the two countries have built solid mutual trust. China appreciates PNG's full understanding of and firm support for China's efforts to safeguard its core interests. China also unhesitatingly stands with PNG, speaks up for PNG on the international and multilateral stage and supports PNG in actively exploring a development path suited to its national conditions. As PNG moves towards revitalization and prosperity, China will always be a good friend and good partner that PNG can trust.

Wang Yi said, bilateral cooperation between China and PNG has shown vitality of multi-dimensional, multi-level and all-round development. China is ready to further synergize development strategies with PNG to explore new areas and open up new prospects for bilateral cooperation. The Chinese side supports PNG in establishing special economic zones, vigorously developing processing industries, increasing the added value of goods, speeding up industrialization, enhancing its capacity for self-driven development and translating its strengths in resources into advantages in development. China is ready to share development opportunities with PNG and welcomes PNG to expand its export of quality products to China.

The two sides agreed to enhance people-to-people and cultural exchanges and people-to-people connectivity. Marape said, China is a member of the Pacific family, and the Pacific connects the PNG people and the Chinese people. PNG will remain firmly committed to its friendship with China. Wang Yi expressed his hope that people of the two countries will become good friends with mutual understanding and close exchanges, and more young people will join the cause of friendship between the two countries so that the friendship will be handed down from generation to generation.

On the same day, Wang Yi held talks with Foreign Minister of PNG Soroi Eoe, attended the signing ceremony of cooperation documents and jointly met the press.