China’s top diplomat will host leaders from Pacific Island nations next week for a summit, Beijing announced on Wednesday, as it seeks closer ties with the strategic region.
Leaders and diplomats from 11 Pacific Island nations, including Kiribati, Solomon Islands, Papua New Guinea and Fiji, will attend the talks in the eastern Chinese city of Xiamen next Wednesday and Thursday, Beijing’s foreign ministry said.
Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said the countries would discuss “comprehensive exchanges and cooperation between China and Pacific Island countries, as well as international regional issues of common concern”.
Beijing “attaches great importance to its relations with Pacific island countries” and looks forward to “jointly building a closer China-Pacific island community with a shared future”, Mao added.
China has been upping efforts to cement its influence in the strategically important Pacific region, challenging the historic sway of the United States and its ally Australia.
Beijing has spent hundreds of millions of dollars building sports stadiums, government offices, hospitals and roads in Pacific nations such as Solomon Islands and Vanuatu.
The diplomatic charm offensive has already borne fruit.
Kiribati, Solomon Islands and Nauru have in recent years severed long-standing diplomatic links with Taiwan in favour of China.
Solomon Islands is seen as a particularly close friend of China in the region.
It inked a secretive security pact with Beijing in 2022, fuelling fears China may use the archipelago to one day establish a greater military footprint in the region.
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