The Solomon Islands became the latest Pacific island nation to open an embassy in China and upgrade ties with Beijing as Washington also seeks to bolster its presence in the region.
(Bloomberg) — The Solomon Islands became the latest Pacific island nation to open an embassy in China and upgrade ties with Beijing as Washington also seeks to bolster its presence in the region.
Solomon Islands Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare is on a week long visit to China and met with both Chinese President Xi Jinping and Premier Li Qiang on Monday.
“I am here also to officially open the Solomon Islands embassy,” Sogavare told Li at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing. “This, of course, reaffirms our desire to keep investing and strengthening Solomon Islands-China relations.” The two sides also agreed to upgrade relations to a “comprehensive strategic partnership.”
Xi told the visiting leader later in the day that China and the Solomon Islands are both developing countries and should “strengthen mutual assistance within the framework of South-South cooperation,” according to Xinhua News Agency.
The two sides also signed agreements, including items on cooperation in civil air transport, rural development and trade promotion.
The Solomon Islands switched diplomatic recognition to Beijing from Taiwan in September 2019. A security accord between Beijing and Honiara raised alarm in New Zealand and Australia last year on fears it would allow for a Chinese military presence in the South Pacific. The island’s government has insisted it has no intention of allowing that to happen.
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Earlier this year, the US reopened its embassy in the Solomon Islands and launched a diplomatic blitz among Pacific Island nations. It also signed two security agreements with Papua New Guinea to “facilitate bilateral and multilateral exercises and engagements.”
(Adds US accord with Papua New Guinea in final paragraph. An earlier version of the story corrected the spelling of the name of the Solomon Islands’ prime minister.)
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