A win-win relationship that shows country size, population don't matter

The talks between Premier Li Qiang and visiting Fijian Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka on Sunday afternoon and the signing of multiple agreements on bilateral cooperation in fields such as trade and infrastructure construction are expected to raise the partnership between China and the Pacific island country to a new level.

Rabuka is also scheduled to meet China's top leader to jointly draw a new blueprint for the development of bilateral relations. The two first met in San Francisco, United States, last November on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Economic Leaders' Meeting.

Fiji was the first Pacific island country to establish diplomatic ties with China, and China has always regarded it as one of its most important partners in the South Pacific region. Since the establishment of diplomatic ties in 1975, bilateral relations have always been renewed with fruitful exchanges and cooperation in various fields, and the trade volume between the two countries reached $530 million in 2023.

China firmly supports the Fijian people in pursuing the development path they have independently chosen, and Fiji actively supports the initiatives put forward by China, including the Global Development Initiative, the Global Security Initiative and the Global Civilization Initiative. Fiji is also an important partner of the Belt and Road Initiative and has joined the Group of Friends of the Global Development Initiative.

Since China began to build a fungus technology demonstration center and carry out training in Fiji in 2014, Chinese agricultural experts have cultivated a variety of fungi in Fiji, including oyster mushroom, and ganoderma lucidum, and mushroom planting has become an important means for local people to improve their income. The "Peace Ark", a Chinese navy hospital ship, visited Fiji twice, in 2014 and 2018, enabling a 6-year-old Fijian girl to get surgery to correct deformity in her hands and feet.

As of 2020, Chinese direct investment in Fiji was $183 million, and China is now Fiji's fifth-largest trading partner. The two sides should further leverage their complementary advantages and deepen cooperation in infrastructure, agriculture and fisheries, light industry, education, tourism and poverty reduction under the framework of Belt and Road cooperation to better promote common development.

On the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties next year, the two countries should implement the consensus reached by their leaders to strengthen exchanges and cooperation at all levels, and push forward the sound and steady development of the comprehensive strategic partnership to bring more benefits to the two peoples. Fruitful China-Fiji cooperation also sets a successful example for friendly cooperation between other big and small countries irrespective of their size and population.