State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi's trip to the South Pacific region is coming to a successful end as he begins an official visit to Vanuatu and Papua New Guinea. This is an unusual and historic visit that opens a new chapter in the traditional friendship between China and the Pacific countries.
As Covid-19 continues to wreak havoc around the world, the world economy is in a deep recession and sustainable development is faced with unprecedented challenges, this trip to the South Pacific region is a journey of peace, friendship and cooperation. For more than half a century, China has always been PICs' good friend cherishing the same ideals and following the same path, good brother sharing weal and woe, and good partner forging ahead shoulder to shoulder. During the visit, everywhere the delegation went, it listened carefully to the voices and concerns of its island friends, explored their needs and wishes on an equal footing, and reached concrete cooperation agreements in various fields by consensus that will bring real benefits to the people of the region. State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi and Fijian Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Josaia Voreqe Bainimarama also co-chaired the second China-Pacific Island Countries Foreign Ministers' Meeting in Suva. The visit is warmly welcomed and highly appreciated by the governments and peoples in the region, and achieved great success.
China and PICs have reached a series of new consensus.
·Deepening the comprehensive strategic partnership. China and PICs will continue to support and help each other, firmly uphold each other’s core interests and major concerns.
·Firmly safeguarding each other’ s national sovereignty, independence and dignity. It is important to respect the sovereignty of all countries, abide by the principle of non-interference, and jointly uphold the legitimate rights and interests of developing countries, particular small and medium-sized countries.
·Pursuing common development and prosperity. We are committed to high-quality Belt and Road cooperation, jointly addressing such challenges as COVID-19, climate change and economic recovery. China will continue to provide assistance to Pacific Island Countries with no political strings attached to enhance the capability of Pacific Island Countries for self-driven development.
·Advocating true multilateralism. The two sides abide by the purposes and principles of the UN Charter earnestly, call for efforts to implement the Paris Agreement faster, jointly implement the Global Development Initiative and adopt practical measures to support the climate response of Pacific Island Countries.
·Promoting people-to-people exchanges. China stands ready to further exchanges and cooperation with Pacific Island Countries in such areas as education, culture, youth, sports and media.
China and the PICs have reached a series of new outcomes. China and PICs will strengthen cooperation in marine environmental protection, emergency response, Blue Economy, the Belt and Road cooperation, disaster prevention and mitigation, infrastructure, tourism, people's livelihood, and others. China-Solomon Islands cooperation is based on Solomon Islands' needs and requirements, on the premise of Solomon Islands' consent, and on the basis of equal consultation. The aim is to help Solomon Islands strengthen police capacity-building, offset the security governance deficit and maintain domestic stability and long-lasting peace and security.Besides, China will continue to build six new cooperation platforms, including poverty reduction, climate change, disaster prevention, agriculture and Juncao centers and follow through on its commitments to provide 2,500 government scholarships and 3,000 seminar and workshop opportunities to PICs from 2020 to 2025.To inject new impetus into the sustainable development of island countries, both sides will jointly host the second China-Pacific Island Countries Agriculture Ministers' Meeting and China-Oceania and South Pacific International Trade Digital Expo.
China's friendship with Pacific Island countries has been open, above board and has stood the test of history and the times. China never interferes in the internal affairs of other countries, never attaches political strings, and never seeks geopolitical interests. China's cooperation with Pacific Island Countries does not target the third parties and does not seek exclusive rights. We have no intention to compete with others and always oppose zero-sum game. China is willing to enhance communication with all countries that care about Pacific Island Countries, especially Australia and New Zealand, and give full play to respective strengths to carry out more trilateral cooperation on the basis of respecting Pacific Island Countries' wishes.