Fijian Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka's ongoing China tour is a great opportunity for the two countries to boost ties in poverty reduction, infrastructure building and jointly combating climate change, an expert said on Wednesday.
Rabuka visited a border county in southwest China's Yunnan Province on Tuesday and hailed the eye-opening scale of China's rural development efforts, saying he hopes to deepen cooperation with the country in the future. His trip to rural Yunnan comes as part of an extensive 10-day official visit to China from Aug. 12 to 21.
Niu Li, executive director of the Research Center for Pacific Studies at Beijing Foreign Studies University, spoke to China Global Television Network (CGTN) on the significance of Rabuka's visit.
"Fiji has about nearly one million people. But still, [one third of the] people still live in poverty, and most of them live in rural area and even outer island area. So with the Fiji prime minister coming to visit Yunnan Province -- in fact, before him, other high-level delegations also came to China in village to learn and to visit villages how villages (are influenced by) Chinese policies and what is improved in those villages, so that they can learn from those experience," she said.
Talking about Rabuka's trip to Yunnan, a province boasting rich ethnic and cultural resources, Niu said the two countries can share experience in protecting minority culture and cultural variety.
"One of the important (things) they learned from China is for accelerating poverty relief, industry poverty relief, education, social insurance, etc. At the same time, they went to Yunnan, they said they were very impressed by (the efforts) China concentrate on minority culture and cultural variety," she said.
Fiji was the first Pacific Island nation to establish diplomatic ties with the People's Republic of China. Since then, the relationship has grown steadily. Over the years, Fiji has maintained close ties with China in economic affairs, trade and climate change.
Trade between the two nations is thriving. In 2023, trade volume reached 530 million U.S. dollars. Data from China's General Administration of Customs show that in the first half of 2024, bilateral trade reached 249 million U.S. dollars, up about 16 percent from the same period last year.
The partnership has also seen progress in infrastructure. Fiji's Vatuwaqa Bridge, Stinson Bridge, Suva's Multi-Purpose Sports Complex, and Navua Hospital are key projects under the China-proposed Belt and Road Initiative.
Tourism plays a crucial role in Fiji's economic development, contributing up to 40 percent of its Gross National Product. In recent years, the visa-free policy between the two countries has further increased travel, bringing more Chinese tourists to Fiji.
China has been offering scholarships to Fijian students since 1984. Many Fijians are now pursuing higher education in China.
Climate change has had an alarming impact on Pacific Island nations. This is an area China is willing to bring changes with some ambitious goals. Niu believes the visit by Rabuka will strengthen cooperation between China and Fiji on both climate change and economic development.
"I think for climate change, not only Fiji, but also other Pacific Island countries. Global warming and climate change bring this dread, Fiji and other Pacific Island countries, they are at the frontline for climate change. Between China and Fiji, I think because Fiji is a transportation harbor, and because Fiji's economy developed earlier and better than other Pacific Island countries, I think with the visit by Fiji prime minister, China and Fiji could hand in hand (work) under the United Nations climate change framework, and especially for infrastructure, energy, new energy, and also set up those policies to combine China's Belt and Road Initiative to Pacific Islands' 2050 Strategy," she said.
Fiji prime minister's China visit could boost bilateral ties: expert
