I think we are very much aware that we are caught in the middle, there is a power contest at play here.
China is part of this.
It grows more powerful and the U .S. and others are seeking to push back on that.
It is Pacific island countries' decision to develop friendly relationships with China, which is in line with their own developed needs.
Larger countries that have historically been partners in the Pacific need to adopt a more pragmatic attitude of new partners such as China coming into the pacific which sees this as an opportunity rather than as a threat.
The chat lounge unpacks views and opinions on hot issues in a more casual way.
Hello and welcome to the chat lounge.
I am your host Xu Yaben.
Today we are discussing a major diplomatic event that has just concluded in Xiamen, the third China -Pacific Island countries foreign ministers meeting.
Chaired by Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, the meeting brought together top diplomats from 11 pacific nations that have diplomatic ties with China.
The two sides issued a joint statement and a list of action points outlining China's commitments to deepening cooperation and implementing the agreed -upon consensus.
What are the major takeaways from the meeting?
How is China's growing partnership with Pacific island countries contributing to the sustainable development and supporting local priorities?
As China's engagement in the region continues to expand, is there potential for traditional and emerging partners to find common ground in supporting the Pacific region's development?
To help unpack these questions, I'm joined by Chen Cih, assistant to the director of New Zealand Studies Centre at East China Normal University, Professor Sandra Tarde, associate professor in the School of Law and Social Sciences at University of the South Pacific in Fiji, and Professor Warwick Powell, adjunct professor at Queensland University of Technology in Australia.
Welcome to the chat.
Chen, before we dive into policy documents and joint statements, let me begin by asking is there a particular moment, project or personal story from your experience with China Pacific Island Cooperation that has left a deep impression on you and why does that memory stand out?
OK, so I think I'm going to share an experience which was a keynote speech given by Professor transform aquaro from the Solomon Island National University, in an international academic conference on Pacific Island Studies.
And also, I'm very happy to actually see Professor Sencha Tutt here, because I know she was in this year's PIPSA meeting in Wellington -Nessmoor.
So I will quote a bit the personal reflection on China's presence in the Pacific from his keynote speech. So, growing up in the Solomon Islands, Chinese traders were an inseparable part of our daily lives from the small cornerstones in our village to the bustling markets in iconiara there were the ones who supplies our goods extended credit to struggling families and even became a part of our communities many of my peers went to school with the children of chinese families who had called the solomons home for generations but over a century our economic and social fabric has been intertwined with theirs
and this is why i find it perplexing when Western media and some geopolitical strategists speak of China's so -called infiltration into the Pacific as though it was something new and unprecedented.
So I think this was one of the moments I heard from from a Pacific Islander sharing his daily experience with Chinese or China in their life.
And this is definitely contrary to how Western media either depicts a China coming into the region.
And also we know that the life changes between China and Pacific Island countries have lasted from at least the establishment of the diplomatic ties in the 1970s, and has continued to expand from economic and trade relationship to dozens of areas.
And more importantly, this corporation has brought changes to the daily lives of Pacific Island countries, because in the end of the day, I think it will still be people here who could really enjoy the benefits.
And so if we look at the list of measures for China to implement the consensus of the Foreign Minister's meeting.
These are the areas specifically feeding into the challenges for people in Pacific nations to address.
For example, to explore the establishment of a think tank dialogue mechanism, because the current policy making in the Pacific relies largely on the analysis provided by the external institution often based in Australia, New Zealand and the U .S., which couldn't really fully appreciate the diversity of the region.
Professor Targe, we have noticed that Fiji's Deputy Foreign Affairs Minister also participated in this year's meeting in Saman, where the joint statement and the list of concrete commitments were agreed upon.
From your perspective as a Fiji based scholar, which specific areas of cooperation outlined in the joint statement do you see as most significant for Fiji's development priorities?
Thank you. Perhaps just to say at the outset that these sorts of engagements are very positive and useful and I think help build understanding and trust between all sides and transparency, of course, too, about people, about countries' priorities and interests.
And, you know, Fiji and China have a long, very long relationship, as you know, fifty years, which in recent years has grown stronger.
For Fiji, I think, you know, China has emerged over time as a very valuable development partner.
It's also a political ally, and it's assisted with security as well.
I think just to say with regard to development, Fiji, one of the priorities, and we may come back to this, has been developing a more balanced trade relationship.
We do rely on China for trade, but we haven't been able to establish a good foothold yet in the Chinese market, so I think for Fiji to try and explore more opportunities for more exports to China would be, I think, very important.
And this meeting, I think, sets the stage for doing that.
And I think beyond that, Fiji, as you mentioned, is part of this very, you know, it's the regional hub.
And the fact that this statement directly alludes to some of the important priorities for the region.
I think this is important for Fiji, including as we'll talk about shortly, the 2050 strategy for the blue Pacific.
I'd just like to perhaps make one cautionary note here and that as we develop these partnerships with China, whether it's through individual bilateral partnerships or collectively.
It's very important to try and avoid creating dual systems or parallel systems within the region.
And I think it's a problem that is obviously the legacy of having in the past very strong partnerships with Western countries.
And now, China is an important partner.
We need to ensure that our partners work together.
We will delve more into that in the later part of the program.
In the meantime, Professor Powell, you're in Australia, and we know Australia has long been a key development partner in the Pacific, so how is this high -level diplomatic meeting between China and the Pacific Island countries viewed in Australia?
Look, I think Australia's general attitude towards this has been, in recent years, clouded by a sense of geopolitical anxiety, and that goes to the heart of Australia's own, understanding of itself within the region and its relationships with both China and with the United States.
So a lot of what happens, I guess, in recent times at the very least in terms of Australia's posture towards the Pacific is framed by this bigger picture set of dynamics.
So that's the unfortunate part.
With all that said and done though, I think that Australia does have a long history and with the Pacific Island nations and does seek to be, in its own terms, a responsible partner.
Now when you're wearing the partner hat you do want the best for the Pacific Islands and part of that is of course the ability of the Pacific Islands to successfully pursue their own social and economic development ambitions and to achieve greater levels of economic security and prosperity and in the end also to ensure that the Pacific Island nations can prosper as sovereign nations in their own rights.
So as with many things in this region from the Australian perspective and particularly the perspective of the political establishment these dynamics are often viewed through complex and geopolitical lenses which I think at times clouds the opportunities that actually exist for multinational collaborative actions to advance shared ambitions and agendas.
You probably have also read through the joint statements from the meeting which emphasized principles such as mutual respect, common development and no political strengths attached.
So how do these principles reflect a current state of China -Pacific island conscious relations?
And how effectively do you think has China balanced its growing cooperation with respect for the sovereignty and national interests of Pacific Island nations?
Look, I think that China clearly is developing a very strong sense of itself as a great nation.
And that strong sense is anchored by the idea that China is an enabling nation.
So there are many ways of great nations to relate to the rest of the world and to view themselves and I think that China works hard to develop itself as an enabling partner in the world.
And you see that reflected in the aspirations articulated through various official documents such as the development and civilization and security vision statements.
That's the first point is that China does seek very much to be an enabling great power.
The second thing is that there is no doubt that as China has become a rising power and now a great power, that its influence globally has also risen and navigating the complex world as a country becomes more influential remains a tricky and a delicate work in progress.
On the whole I would say that China tends to be quite successful at balancing its size and its influence together with its own understanding of how great flowers can and should behave. It is of course challenging when the environment that you're operating in continues to be buffered by the forces of history particularly in the way that that is embodied by the strong and persistent influence of the United States across the Pacific.
Let's not forget that the Pacific was described as America's lake in the years immediately after the Second World War and has been hereafter or thereafter treated really as a territorial dominion of American foreign policy.
so much so that of course in parts of the Pacific particularly the Northern Pacific the jurisdictional authorities that prevail there continue to be strongly American influenced as American territories and protectorates and in the North Pacific as well we have a significant American military presence and of course to some extent in Australia too.
So it is a complex environment.
China has laid out very clearly its own view as to how great powers should behave and conduct themselves.
It's laid out a set of visions and frameworks about how it believes countries should relate to each other and on the basis of that I guess is charting a way in the Pacific that that seeks to live up to, I think, the expectations that it has set for itself.
The chat lounge. The chat lounge unpacks views and opinions on hot issues in a more casual way.
Chen Xi, this is a question to you.
So we know China's approach or China's partnership with the Pacific Island countries It is mainly people -centered and development -driven.
We can tell that from this time some tangible outcomes of the meeting include this joint statement and also the list of measures for China to implement, which includes these twelve projects across climate response, disaster relief, health care, education, culture and tourism, and media dialogue.
and so on. So how do these projects reflect China's intention, in your view, like to build this win -win partnership?
I think the development of the cooperation between China and Pacific Island countries has been based on what China is capable to provide, and what Pacific Island countries really need.
So as both sides are developing nations at the very beginning, so they have remain committed to addressing climate change, for example, through sustained global promise and also corresponding policies.
And China's engagement with the Pacific has been marked by the steadiness and also sustainability, and this is very different to the commitment from some other global powers, which has been more variable and also more unconcerned.
So for example, U .S. has restored several times from multilateral institutions and also agreements, and its actions do not always align with its rhetoric.
So I could take the example like the disaster relief and mitigation.
So we know that climate crisis is one of the greatest challenges in this century and the Pacific Island countries have long been at the forefront of bearing the very, you know, the most severe and we know the extreme weather events and also the social and also economic impacts have been threatening the livelihoods of their citizens while impair the economic development.
And also issues about territorial integrity, security concern for not only resources but also human economy all have been raised.
But to address these challenges requiring not only and, you know, their coordinated response from the regional level as well as the global level as well.
And this is exactly where China's sustainability cooperation could fit in to help Pacific Island countries build climate resilience, for example, and we see how comprehensive this cooperation has been.
So first, we know when Pacific Island countries they were hit by extreme natural disasters, China was always one of the separate immediately offered to provide very urgently needed supplies and also found to the affected countries.
But at the same time, it is more important to help Pacific island countries to build up their capacity, own capacity, to withstand disasters.
So, including you know the infrastructure perspective and also to carry out technical cooperation and also building the seismic networks to enhance the early warning system and also the monitoring capacity.
And in addition to this, China has also provided government scholarships and training program to facilitate a study of professionals from these countries, which is actually the investment to the future of the South Pacific, the investment in their people.
So I think the cooperation in this regard is actually a really good demonstration of how China has been building the partnerships and also a shared future in a very comprehensive style and according to the needs of the region and in their preferred way.
Professor Tard, if we take a closer look at bilateral trade relations, We can tell that the trade between the two parties, between China and Pacific Island countries, has expanded more than 30 times over the past 30 years, from 1992's $153 million to 2021's $5 .3 billion.
In the case of Fiji, the bilateral trade also reached a record high at $534 million last year.
So first of all, what factors do you think have driven this regional trade growth?
And also in the case of Fiji, how would you assess the significance of China -Fiji trade ties as a potential model for sustainable development across the Pacific?
I have to say that obviously China's economic growth in that period has been a big factor here and it's a desire for more external partnerships, including of course with the Pacific.
This growth in trade is, it's obviously very it's a mixed record across the region in some cases.
There is a huge surplus in favor of Pacific island country with China importing more from that country than it exports.
But for other countries with less to export the trade balance is very much in China's favor and I think for Fiji that has been one of issues that it has not been able to produce the commodities or has the ability to perhaps tap into the China market as much as it would like to, and in this context, perhaps the opportunity is now there with the traits, the tariffs being imposed by the US administration that the Fiji government may pivot trade, or the private sector may pivot trade more to the China market.
I'm thinking of things like bottled water, for example.
Most of our bottled water goes to the US now.
But that may shift, and there may be other impacts of this.
So we have seen growth over the years.
This has been facilitated too by both China and the Pacific succession to the World Trade Organization.
There have been bilateral initiatives.
There's obviously the importance of the pivot by China in terms of its Belt and Road initiative becoming much more engaged in development initiatives here and elsewhere.
You just mentioned that the US tariff policy has brought some impact to the Pacific island countries.
So how serious is the situation on the ground?
How has that maybe changed the Pacific island countries trade strategy?
I think it's caused a lot of reassessment of where our trade should focus.
And I think it's perhaps an opportune moment as well, to start broadening out and diversifying our markets.
And China's a key one, but also Southeast Asia.
I think part of a broader shift though, that we in the region need to take in terms of our traditional reliance on Western partners including the US, ...who are no longer in such a dominant position globally.
And China obviously is emerging as the most...
...one of the most important players in the world economy and the world generally.
And other parts of the world as well are starting to rise in their influence.
So I think for the Pacific, we need to take account of these shifts that are occurring.
There are changes politically in terms of security and defense, strategic changes.
And I think it's a very dynamic era.
And what's happening with the U .S. at the moment is perhaps a wakeup call.
China, interestingly enough, can benefit from this because it can position itself as a stabilizing force, as an upholder of the world, a rules -based order.
That's something, of course, that the Pacific is very keen to maintain, some predictability and some trust in the multilateral system.
And this extends beyond trade and economics to things like climate change, perhaps to the nuclear non -proliferation regime and other issues that are important to the Pacific.
Professor Powell, as Professor Tarr just mentioned, amid this ongoing global economic uncertainty for many developing nations, especially in the South Pacific, they are also facing challenges from rising unilateralism in trade.
So what steps do you think are needed to make the multilateral trading system more inclusive and more supportive for islands developing countries?
I think it's a great question and there's no doubt that the present moment is characterized by significant turbulence in what has been a relatively stable multilateral trading arrangement that countries have become used to over the course of the last few decades.
The broad issue around trade though needs to be perhaps recast in part as a production question, meaning that you can only trade what you produce.
And so, an open multilateral trading arrangement needs to also be accompanied by ongoing capacity development so that countries and their enterprises are able to take advantage of their resources and build on that through enhanced technology and enhanced skills to add value and enable countries to ultimately serve the world with higher value products.
One of the challenges for developing nations historically has been the fact that their principal ability to earn hard currencies US dollars in the main has been by selling natural resources.
Natural resources of course are globally traded commodities and therefore the revenue that exporters can earn from that are subject to the fluctuations in commodity prices.
Secondly because commodity prices are priced in US dollars.
The exporting nations are also exposed to exchange rate risks particularly when they are purchasing local currencies having earned the US dollars in the processes of international trade.
Now what happens historically is that developing countries borrow funds to enable them to develop their capacity whether it's infrastructure or to import technologies and they pay for that by exporting their natural resources as I said to earn the hard currencies and they use those hard currencies to purchase technologies.
The issue is that the amount of hard currencies earned is often insufficient to enable developing nations to service their debts which creates historic problems and we know that with debt servicing through finance from the IMF for example but also it exposes developing nations to the risks that the cost of their debt measured in terms of their own domestic economies rises because the debts are denominated in US dollars.
And as American domestic monetary policy is adjusted to make America's own national economic policy requirements, it can lead to higher interest payments that inadvertently and adversely affect developing nations.
So not only are we dealing with a question of trade, we're actually dealing with a question of productive capacity and how that is financed and they remain the ongoing challenges for developing nations including those in the pacific.
Let's take a short break.
Coming back we will discuss how high -quality Belt and road initiative aligned with the 2050 strategy for the blue pacific continent and if there is potential for traditional and emerging partners to cooperate in supporting the Pacific Islands development.
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Welcome back. Let's continue our discussion.
Chen So, the joint statement also calls for aligning high quality Belt and Road Initiative with this 2050 strategy for the blue pacific continent and outlines seven key cooperation platforms ranging from emergency supplies, poverty reduction to agriculture, climate response and gene technology.
this time it has expanded exchanges in education, culture, tourism, healthcare and the possibility of direct flights.
in your view, how does this multi -dimensional cooperation framework reflect China's approach to the regional partnership in the Pacific?
We can see from all this cooperation how comprehensive and also diverse this cooperative relationship has been, and also we can see the effort from both sides to try to cooperate in a, we call it, Pacific -led approach with respect to the regional solidarity as well as the strategic autonomy.
So among this, the original organizations of the Pacific Island countries are one of the very important vehicles to achieve such an effort.
For example, the climate financing.
We know to get the access to external financial support is very crucial for Pacific Island countries, but from where to cater and also how to receive financing is a very a big question for them as well and yearly bilateral aid is one of the very prominent ways but that means to get the found from one particular country.
So this way has its advantages of very lower or relatively lower access requirement and very shorter delivery time.
However it is more conducive to the donor rather than the hoster country in deciding where to spend the money and also there is another platform the multilateral platform this is another choice but very complex management mechanisms and certification procedure actually limit the negotiation power of one single nation.
And for Pacific island countries their answer is the regional organisation as their best vehicle for you know the collective decision making as well as for the climate assistance.
And then if we look back at the cooperation between China and Pacific island countries, it will see many collaborations of this type.
So, for example, China has contributed to the China Pacific Islands Foreign Cooperation Fund since 2000.
So, which has provided, you know, the financial support to address regional priorities.
And China has also provided the annual funding to the secretary of the Pacific Regional Environmental Program since 1998 in coping with, you know, the climate change and also to achieve the sustainable development.
So I think what we have seen from this is that both sides, they have the willingness and also have already taken the joint effort to cooperate in such a, you know, such approach led by the Pacific and to actually, based on the needs from the countries, and to adopt what they actually prefer, the way to do with the climate changes and also other issues.
Well, Professor Tart, what's your take on Chen's remarks regarding this practical implementation of allowing high quality Belt and Road Initiative with the 2050 strategy for the Blue Pacific continent?
Yes, the 2050 strategy is, firstly, it's a blueprint for the region as far as where it wants to go.
What are its long -term goals and as a region, and how will they collectively work to achieve those.
And there is an implementation plan that goes with that and this is a living document, there'll be various phases of that.
It's very much meant to set the agenda, set the priorities for the region that will help our partners direct their assistance in ways that are, as Jen said, that are Pacific led.
and hopefully that this is a way of also bringing our partners into a more coordinated engagement with the region rather than working in parallel or at odds or cross purposes.
But of course that's a regional strategy and there is often a disconnect between what is agreed at the regional level and what happens at the local and national levels.
Some countries have quite clearly defined national development plans, which provide further guidelines for partnerships and assistance, and various channels for dialogue as well at the national level with partners.
So with China, I guess we have quite a strong relationship in Fiji, with the Chinese government, through the embassy, and with their various other actors who have been involved with infrastructure development here in the Pacific.
there's also investment as well going on in Fiji.
So there are many ways in which the partnership can be guided and where input can be provided.
I think one of the most interesting initiatives was in 2024 I believe when representatives from the indigenous Fijian institution, the great council of chiefs toured China and were able to visit various sites and learn more about different types of poverty alleviation programs that can be transferred in some way to the villages in the local communities here in Fiji, and have real impact at that level.
So I think it's about being very flexible.
As we discussed the many tangible outcomes like cooperation between China and the Pacific Island countries still face challenges as well, such as logistical constraints and limited local capacity and so on.
So from your perspective, what are the most pressing hurdles in advancing this cooperation and what are some measures that can be taken to address these issues?
Yeah, look, there are probably a handful of key things that I think are important preconditions for enhanced coordination and collaboration.
If we just look at the economic domain, firstly, the ongoing development of I guess what you'd probably broadly call energy sovereign capabilities is important, in other words, it is important for Pacific Island nations to develop their own or to have support to enable the development of energy systems that are resilient and which deliver high returns on the energy committed to developing them.
So they need to be sustainable and they need to be sovereign.
That means developing more renewable energy infrastructure because without sovereign energy nations are ultimately exposed to the significant risks that energy supplies can be affected by geopolitical dynamics.
So that's the first thing.
The second thing is to have communications networks, information systems that support two things, actually, one is again, enhanced national information sovereignty.
But secondly, to achieve that without compromising across national interoperability.
And that really means developing information systems, both hardware and software, that are open to, that are protected from the capricious interventions of major powers.
The advent of open source artificial intelligence amongst other open source software capabilities is an important symbol of what is possible because it points to the opportunity for developing nations to implement and operate and ultimately develop and fine tune artificial intelligence models locally and augment them to suit specific local requirements.
That is to ensure that they can make use of these technologies without being at risk of having others intervene to stop them from making use of these technologies.
The third area where I think we need to focus upon in a sense is a political cultural question and that is one where other nations actually view collaboration in and around the Pacific and with Pacific Island nations not as a zero -sum proposition but as one in which collaborative effort can achieve shared ambitions.
And I mean by that, that larger countries that have historically been partners in the Pacific need to adopt a more pragmatic attitude of new partners such as China coming into the Pacific, which sees this as an opportunity rather than as a threat.
So instead of thinking that China's ongoing involvement in the Pacific represents a threat to others, it needs to be seen as an opportunity to be embraced and articulated and that's partly a political, cultural issue and I think the Pacific Island nations themselves are in a position to assert, if you will, their own desire to not be part of the pull and push of major power politics and insist that the collaborations that are part and parcel of life in the Pacific, driven first and foremost by the interests of the Pacific island nations above the interests of all else.
Chen, so Professor Powell, he mentioned about, you know, here are some questions where critics in some Western nations say that China is seeking to maybe expand its influence in the region from the strategic view.
Especially we know back in 2022, when China and the Solomon Island signed this security pact, which has sparked speculation about this potential Chinese military presence in the South Pacific.
Some even describe this the region as a new frontline in major power competition.
So how do you respond to these narratives?
And in your view, what are the fundamental goals of China's engagement in the Pacific and how should they be understood in the broader international context?
So first of all, it is Pacific Island countries decision to develop friendly relationship with China, which is in line with their own development needs.
So we can see this from the foreign ministers meeting and also the intensive visits to China by leaders of the Pacific Island countries since the beginning of last year, which is a good proof of this.
And many of the Western media's alleged concern is actually based more on conjecture in even fabrications.
And the second is it's wrong to see Pacific Island countries as merely passive pawns in the alleged global power contest. You know, the continuous development of the regionalism in the South Pacific in the past, at least the one decade, sees the effort of Pacific island countries striving for both regional solidarity and also their own to holding their own strategic autonomy.
And these countries, they are taking the initiative and formulating policy goals in line with their own development reality.
and during this process they have been actively expanding cooperative relations with more countries and striving for their own rights to survival and development in the international arena.
Also, for both China and Pacific island countries, they belong to the global south and have been facing similar challenges in the process of development as developing countries or narrow the economic development and also combating climate change.
So, in climate change, it is even regarded by Pacific island countries as the own challenge threatening their survival in the region.
It is in these areas that China has been cooperating with the South Pacific.
So we repeatedly read from Chinese official statement the emphasis and the promise of four respects, attracting no political strengths, and also no imposing one's will onto any others.
And China's cooperation with Pacific island countries should not be seen as targeting at any third country.
Actually, it also always welcome the participation of any third country, be they the United States, or Australia, or New Zealand, and both China's and the West's cooperation with Pacific countries should be respected, and they are not, you know, in nature mutually exclusive.
So we can see that Pacific Island countries they have very clear desire and need to pursue the development and the stability, and also they have sufficient political wisdom to make very clear judgments and also decisions that will actually serve their long -term interests.
Professor Tard, I want to hear your How do you respond to concerns like China Pacific Island Nations cooperation is being politicized, were viewed through a zero sum lens?
And also, how do Pacific Island Nations balance their partnership or engagement with all major partners, while maintaining strategic autonomy and development priorities?
Yeah, I'd just firstly say that it's quite clear that we're in an era now of much greater competition, geopolitical competition, and this is leading to an escalation of military activity in the region from all sides.
Obviously, we are traditional partners, are quite prominent in terms of their military presence, but we are seeing new initiatives from China with intercontinental ballistic missile tests taking place.
This is a situation that I think is starting to capture the attention, focus the minds of Pacific island leaders particularly, as well as other civil society groups and I think it's a factor behind Prime Minister Rambukka's proposed zone of peace or ocean of peace, which has been taken up by the Pacific island forum leaders.
I think one of the key principles that it seeks to promote is this idea that the region is a a region where countries are not confined to any particular sphere of influence, and while not all countries are are not aligned or able to be not aligned, they wish to be free to choose who they are partnered with, who their friends are, you know, who they wish to engage with, they don't want to be told who they can and cannot be friends with, and they don't want to be forced to take sides I think we are very much aware that we are caught in the middle, though, that there is a power contest at play here.
China is part of this.
It grows more powerful, and the US and others are seeking to push back on that, and the Pacific has become this zone where it could, in fact, be seen as a military playground to go back to the old framing of the region.
That's where I think the Ocean of Peace idea is very important as a way to assert key principles of if not non -alignment, of demilitarisation and certainly of not seeing any escalation of nuclear weapons in the region.
The chat lounge. The chat lounge and packs views and opinions on hot issues in a more casual way.
Professor Powell, how can, say, Australia, China, the Pacific Island nations, and also including the US, work together in complementary way rather than competition moving forward. Like do you see potential for cooperation perhaps in climate change, capacity building, or infrastructure where traditional and emerging partners can find this common ground to support a region's development in a collaborative and sustainable manner?
Well there's plenty of projects and plenty of need where collaboration can be undertaken so the issue is not whether or not there's opportunities for the issue is the willingness of parties to pursue a collaborative approach as opposed to a competitive or an antagonistic approach and this goes back to my earlier point which is really to do with the political culture and the lenses through which the Pacific are viewed unfortunately I think there is a tendency particularly for traditional Western powers to view the Pacific through historical and securitized lenses, and any changes in who's participating
in and working with Pacific Island nations is viewed as a threat to the prevailing order of things.
That's very unfortunate and it will only change when Pacific Island nations themselves of course continue to exercise their sovereign autonomy to work with the partners in so chooses and for them to insist that in fact they aren't going to be someone else's pawns.
As for China's role I think that China can only continue to pursue the model of being an enabling power that works on the basis of respecting national sovereignty and leaves open the door for collaborations with others.
Climate change is a classic example where many of China's technical capabilities for example can and would play a significantly constructive role in relation to the Pacific both directly and indirectly and Australia too has plenty of know -how in that arena.
This in a sense brings to question I guess how the geopolitics will unfold because right now we have a United States administration which does not see climate change as being of a particularly significant issue, it has an executive that views climate change as being a hoax and a fraud and that in fact the United States has withdrawn from multilateral agreements concerning climate related action.
So at the moment the United States has vacated its potential role in this arena.
This really does call on other leading nations in the region to step up to the plate.
By that I mean China and Australia looking and exploring at genuine projects where their respective know -how's can be mobilised to deliver real and tangible outcomes in the Pacific for the people that live in the region.
So Chen, looking ahead, how does China envision the next phrase of its cooperation with Pacific island countries?
And also we know during this Third China Pacific Islands Countries Foreign Ministers' Meeting, both sides agreed to align cooperation with national development plans and regional aspirations.
So how will China ensure that its commitments are not perceived as empty promises but are Is that translated into meaningful and locally driven outcomes?
Yeah. So China attaches great importance to building a closer community with specific countries for shared future and this partnership will be built on the at least the three principles and the first one is China reiterates its policy on developing relations with Pacific island countries in full implantation of full respects, namely the sovereignty and independence, the world, the ethnic and cultural traditions, and also efforts to seek strength through unity.
And the second is China is willing to address the primary strategic considerations of Pacific island countries, and continue to support and also assist them as they can in economic development and also likelihood improvement.
And the third is in the international arena, especially in addressing climate change.
China will continue to support Pacific island countries calling and also within the framework of the South's corporation, China is committed to providing assistance and support as well.
And if we see from more specific areas, I think to address the climate change and also to build climate resilience, will continue to be their main focus of the cooperation, and the attention will specifically be set in energy transition and also renewable development, as our panelists already mentioned just now.
Given the Pacific regions, its extreme vulnerability to climate impacts and also China's global climate commitments.
So Pacific Island countries, they enjoy very rich renewable energy resources and have set ambitious renewable energy targets but they have been facing challenges such as lack of technical capacity.
And on the other hand China has got very rich experience in developing renewable energy and also it is now the world's largest renewable energy investor.
So there is much space for both China and Pacific island countries to enhance their renewable energy cooperation.
And also there has been projects like previously the Solar Microgrids funded by China in Fiji and also Vanuatu, and also for blue economy, and also green development like green shipping and also port electrification.
So I think both sides will aim to expand further cooperation in this regard in the future.
Professor Tartt, Pacific island countries have agreed that to support China's initiatives such as for peace and security.
So in your view, how do you see China's role in promoting peace and development in the South Pacific region and from Pacific island countries perspective, how do they view the future outlook with China's involvement in their country's development?
China has definitely got an important role to play in the region when it comes to peace and security.
I think it's important that this role that China plays, not be seen in the kind of zero -sum terms that have been referred to earlier, because that is not going to be productive in the long term.
And I think for the Pacific going forward, China's got a key role to play in the maritime domain, it's increasing in terms of policing cooperation.
and these initiatives, as you know, have often been portrayed in very negative terms by traditional partners.
But the reality is, I think they're here to stay.
The effort to perhaps curtail China's involvement is certainly evident when you see some of the bilateral treaties and arrangements that have been concluded such as with the Australia and the Pacific, but I think it'd be more productive and constructive with in the future for everyone, if ways are found to work more closely together and to align the priorities of our partners with the needs and the priorities of the Pacific.
I think there's a lot of potential, we're obviously in a world that's changing fast, that's in flux and there is a lot of unpredictability, instability.
And China can lend its weight to try and ensure stability going forward, and supporting a multilateral rules based order that is in everyone's interests.
And I think, when it comes to what China wants, what the Pacific wants, they are not always going to see eye to eye.
It's definitely the case that they are different.
It's how they manage those differences as well and are able to work together with mutual trust and respect.
With that, we are wrapping up this episode of chat lounge.
I've been speaking with Chen Si, assistant to the director at the New Zealand Studies Centre, East China Normal University, Professor Sandra Tart, Associate Professor in the School of Law and Social Sciences, University of the South Pacific in Fiji, and Professor Warwick Powell, Ed John Professor at Queensland University of Technology in Australia.
Thank you so much for listening.
Have a great weekend.
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