The Chinese government has confirmed that its foreign minister, Wang Yi, will embark today on a trip to the Pacific of unprecedented scope and ambition, traveling to eight countries in the region in 10 days.
Key points:
- Wang Yi is expected to visit at least eight Pacific nations to try to establish economic and security ties in the region.
- The tour has sparked anxiety in Washington and Canberra, after Beijing signed a controversial security pact with the Solomon Islands last month.
- China may seek similar agreements with other nations, including Kiribati
Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin told reporters in Beijing that the minister will visit the Solomon Islands, Fiji, Kiribati, Samoa, Tonga, Vanuatu, Papua New Guinea and East Timor for the next fortnight.
Wang Yi will also host his second meeting with Pacific Island Ministers of Foreign Affairs while in Fiji.
The news of the trip first became known earlier this month, when Solomon Islands government sources indicated that the Foreign Minister was planning a visit to the country. The ABC also reported on Monday that Wang Yi was expected to visit at least five countries in the Pacific region.
But the Foreign Ministry announcement still offers the first full picture of China’s plans.
Wang Wenbin said the trip “would further strengthen mutual political trust between China and the countries mentioned”, “push cooperation in various fields to a new level” and “inject new impetus to the long-term development of relations.” bilateral “.
The Foreign Minister’s progress will be closely watched by Australian officials who are eager for China’s move to strengthen trade, strategic and security ties with the Pacific Island nations, especially in the wake of the Beijing Security Pact. he signed with the Solomon Islands last month.
The Financial Times has reported that China may be looking at similar agreements with other Pacific island nations, including Kiribati.
The Kiribati government has strongly denied this claim, although a Western government official told the ABC that it was a “plausible” prospect.
Solomon Islands Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare had recently been critical of the Morrison government. (Supplied by: Press Secretary to the Prime Minister of the Solomon Islands)
Although Wang Yi will visit Kiribati, he will only stay in the country for four hours, largely due to the Pacific Island country’s strict COVID control quarantine measures.
A Pacific government official told the ABC that they believed there had been “long and intense” negotiations over this stage of their trip, and that Kiribati only accepted the visit after China exerted intense pressure. .
In a statement, the Kiribati government described the visit as an “important milestone in Kiribati-China relations” which “would strengthen and promote the partnership and cooperation between our two countries after the resumption of diplomatic relations on 2019 “.
Growing influence
Meanwhile, Chinese state media are already announcing the trip as proof of China’s growing influence across the Pacific.
“Wang’s trip to the South Pacific region comes after a series of recent U.S. diplomatic activities in Asia, including a special summit with ASEAN leaders and the US president’s visits to South Korea. and Japan, which sought to strengthen restraint against China, “the Communist Party said. tabloid Global Times, citing Chinese “analysts.”
“The United States is trying to contain China with its peacekeeping strategy, but now China’s footprints are ubiquitous in the region outside the second island chain, and this shows that the US containment strategy is not working.
“Washington and Canberra’s attempt to form a regional alliance to target China is doomed to failure.”
Lowy Institute Pacific analyst Jonathan Pryke said the “marathon” and “historic” trip by the foreign minister will be followed closely in Western capitals.
“It will certainly have many analysts in the West nervous, both in terms of China’s renewed commitment and in the agreements that will be signed along the way,” he said.
“For the foreign minister of the jet-set, even though it will only be another standard week at work.”