Wang reaffirms China's commitment to Pacific Island countries

State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi said in a virtual meeting with Dalton Tagelagi, premier and foreign minister of Niue, on Sunday that China is willing to deepen friendship and cooperation with island countries and help them achieve better development on the basis of consensus.

Wang is currently in Fiji, the fourth leg of his tour to the Pacific Island countries, where he will host the second China-Pacific Island countries foreign ministers' meeting.

In the video meeting, the two foreign ministers exchanged views on the holistic cooperation between China and Pacific Island countries and agreed to jointly promote the second foreign ministers' meeting between China and Pacific Island countries to achieve a success.

Wang said China has always maintained an open attitude to cooperate with island countries and respected the traditional ties between island nations and other countries in the region.

Over the past 50 years, China has always provided support and assistance to island countries, Wang added.

As the 21st century is the century of developing countries, Wang said small and medium-sized countries have the right to develop, and so do the people of island countries to live a happy life.

Wang said China, being a reliable and long-term partner in the development process of the island countries, is willing to work with all parties to build consensus on and elevate the level of cooperation to form greater synergy and realize better development.

Tagelagi said China's support is of vital importance to the development of island countries. Island nations would continue to uphold the spirit of mutual respect and make bilateral cooperation complement with current planning, so as to promote development and prosperity in the South Pacific region, he added.

He thanked China for providing selfless help and strong support to Niue's independent development and improvement of livelihoods.

China has always paid attention to listening to Niue's needs and extends a helping hand in a timely manner in its fight against the pandemic, he said.

Niue firmly upholds the one-China policy and looks forward to deepening cooperation with China in various fields, he added.

Wang appreciated that Tagelagi is committed to friendship between the two countries, saying China and Niue have respected and supported each other since the establishment of diplomatic ties in 2007.

China would support Niue to follow a development path suited to its national conditions, strengthen policy coordination with Niue and jointly build high-quality Belt and Road Initiative.

According to Wang, China has built a comprehensive strategic partnership with Niue and is the second-largest trading partner of the island country.