China says Fiji PM to visit next week
by AFP Staff Writers
Beijing (AFP) Aug 9, 2024

Fiji's Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka will visit China next week, Beijing's foreign ministry said Friday, as it seeks to build closer ties in the South Pacific.

Rabuka will visit from August 12 to 21, a foreign ministry spokesperson said in a statement.

"During the visit, leaders of the two countries will have in-depth exchanges of views on China-Fiji relations and important issues of mutual interest," they added.

Beijing has sought to deepen ties with South Pacific nations, sparking heightened concern among Western allies over its growing sway -- particularly in the field of security.

Rabuka, who has been cautious about Beijing's expanding security footprint in the Pacific, met Chinese leader Xi Jinping on the sidelines of an Asia-Pacific economic summit in San Francisco last year.

That meeting saw Xi pledge to help Fiji safeguard its "security and sovereignty" and to cooperate on infrastructure.

And following those talks, Rabuka said China could help develop Fiji's ports and shipyards and praised Beijing's record of aid to his country in fighting Covid-19, developing agriculture and revamping infrastructure.

But the Pacific island nation has sought to strike a delicate balance as China competes for influence in the region with the United States and its allies.

During a visit to Australia in October, Rabuka said he preferred dealing with democratic "traditional friends" when asked about China's security role in the South Pacific.

"Fiji's position is very clear. We are friendly with China, now, and the US, always, and do not want to be caught in the struggle between the superpowers," he said.

China alarmed Western countries when it signed a secretive defence pact with Solomon Islands last year, sparking fears it could deploy military forces there.

The Solomons' Prime Minister Jeremiah Manele visited China in June.

After the visit, the country said it would prop up its government budget with a $20 million injection from Beijing.

Beijing on Friday said Rabuka's visit "speaks to the close relations between China and the South Pacific region."

"China hopes to take our comprehensive strategic partnership featuring mutual respect and common development to a new level," the spokesperson said.

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