Solomon Islands ties upgraded

Relations: Xi also stresses full respect for Pacific Island nations' sovereignty

China and the Solomon Islands agreed on Monday to officially establish a comprehensive strategic partnership of mutual respect and common development in the new era, vowing to deepen cooperation in all areas, including trade and investment, climate change response and people-to-people exchanges.

The decision was announced by President Xi Jinping and Solomon Islands Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare in a joint statement released after their meeting in Beijing.

The seven-day official visit, which began on Sunday, is Sogavare's second visit to China since the Pacific Island country severed "diplomatic ties" with the Taiwan region and established diplomatic relations with China in 2019.

This time, one of the main tasks of Sogavare's visit — which will also take him to Jiangsu and Guangdong provinces — is to inaugurate the Solomon Islands' embassy in Beijing.

During their meeting at the Great Hall of the People, Xi said cooperation between China and the Solomon Islands has caught up over the past four years and has become a model of unity and cooperation among countries of different sizes and among developing nations.

China highly appreciates the Solomon Islands' firm pursuit of the one-China principle and will also support the Pacific Island nation in following its own path of development, he said.

The president expressed Beijing's willingness to share with the Solomon Islands the development opportunities brought by Chinese modernization, better align the China-proposed Belt and Road Initiative with the Solomon Islands' National Development Strategy 2016-35, boost pragmatic cooperation in all fields, and import more high-quality products from the island country.

China will also encourage its enterprises to invest in the Solomon Islands and will continue to provide economic and technical assistance to the country with no political strings attached, Xi said. He added that China supports the Solomon Islands in hosting the Pacific Games this year.

Xi also stressed full respect for Pacific Island nations' sovereignty and independence, as well as their willingness to cooperate and cultural traditions.

Noting that China always adheres to the principle that all countries are equal, regardless of size, Xi said China will hold to the principles of wide consultation, joint contribution, shared benefits and win-win results during cooperation with Pacific Island countries.

He also said China fully respects Pacific Island nations' choice to strengthen themselves through cooperation and supports island countries in the Pacific to implement the regional 2050 Strategy for the Blue Pacific Continent. Such efforts will contribute to building a region of peace, harmony, security, social inclusion and increased prosperity, Xi said.

Sogavare said that his country's decision to establish diplomatic ties with China was a correct one and that fruitful results have been achieved since then.

Now China has become the Solomon Islands' largest partner in infrastructure and a reliable partner of development, Sogavare said, adding that his country opposes any act that targets or contains China's development.

According to the Foreign Ministry, trade between the two countries reached $500 million last year, a year-on-year increase of 3 percent.

Also on Monday, Premier Li Qiang, who hosted a welcoming ceremony for Sogavare, said that China will work with the Solomon Islands to uphold true multilateralism, strengthen coordination in the United Nations and other mechanisms, and jointly tackle climate change.

Li also said that Beijing will join hands with Honiara to keep the South Pacific as a nuclear-weapon-free zone and maintain regional stability and prosperity.

After their meeting, Li and Sogavare witnessed the signing of multiple bilateral cooperative documents.

Chen Xiaochen, deputy director of the Institute of Area Studies at East China Normal University, said Sogavare's visit demonstrated that the Pacific Island countries welcome development cooperation instead of geopolitical competition.

"As a small island state once among the lowest-developed Pacific Island countries, development is the core objective of the Solomon Islands government," he said, adding that the country still faces challenges, including the need for a better security environment for business.