Host China offers Pacific nations more climate change help in high-level talks
Beijing has pledged to expand its support for Pacific Island countries in building climate resilience, and to continue law enforcement cooperation in the region, during high-level talks in the coastal city of Xiamen in southeastern China’s Fujian province on Wednesday.
Top diplomat Wang Yi made the commitment, which included US$2 million for the climate change fund, at the third foreign ministers’ meeting between China and Pacific Island states. It was also the first in-person gathering since the 2021 inaugural event.
The meeting – part of Beijing’s continuing efforts to reinforce its outreach to the strategically important region – convened with foreign ministers and senior diplomats representing 11 of the 18 member states of the
Pacific Islands Forum.According to a document released on Wednesday night after the meeting, China’s US$2 million investment will be used to expand cooperation in renewable energy, agriculture, fishery, low-carbon infrastructure, and tourism.
Under a new climate change cooperation initiative, China will undertake 100 “small-and-beautiful” projects – a new model that shifts the focus of the Belt and Road Initiative from mega infrastructure to small and sustainable improvements in people’s lives.
These projects will set out to enhance the capability of Pacific Island nations to tackle climate-related hazards and the impacts of climate change, the document said.
Meanwhile, China will also share natural disaster-related data from its vast network of satellites as part of disaster-relief support for local communities in Pacific Island countries.
Speaking in Xiamen, Wang portrayed China as a responsible global player, in contrast with what he called an “individual country that withdrew from the Paris Agreement”, according to state news agency Xinhua.
“We pledge to be a reliable, steadfast, and compassionate partner to all Global South countries, including our Pacific Island friends,” Wang told reporters after the summit.
The Pacific Islands Forum is a political grouping of independent and self-governing states in the region. The Republic of Marshall Islands, Tuvalu and Palau – which maintain diplomatic ties with Taipei – were absent from the summit. Neither Australia nor New Zealand attended.
Beijing has been steadily increasing its engagement with developing countries, as part of a broader effort to build a bigger role in global governance, especially when the world is grappling with the chaos from the tariff war launched by US President Donald Trump.
While the Pacific region is one of the poorest, its location – between Asia, North America and Australia – makes it crucial for monitoring naval movements. Its vast exclusive economic zones, with valuable resources such as fishery and seabed minerals, have also drawn increasing interests from the global powers.
It is also home of the so-called second island chain, a conceptual strategic line that stretches from southern Japan through US territory Guam to Micronesia and Papua New Guinea – regarded as crucial to US efforts to contain China’s military expansion.
For years, Beijing has pushed for a security deal with the region with no success, largely because of a lack of consensus among the Pacific Island nations. Regional players like Australia and New Zealand have also voiced concerns.
There was no mention of security cooperation in Wednesday’s documents, which said only that the two sides agreed to hold the fourth ministerial dialogue – on law enforcement and policing affairs – within this year.
Yu Lei, a professor at Shandong University’s School of Northeast Asian Studies, said that China had tried to keep a low profile on its security and police training cooperation with some Pacific Island nations.
“Security and police training cooperation is ongoing,” Yu said, referring to the programmes between Chinese police academies and local law enforcement officers. “It’s not necessary to overly publicise it, and that also better serves the mutual interests of both sides.”
In addition to its climate change commitments, Beijing pledged a further 200 “small-and-beautiful” projects across the region to improve local livelihoods, according to a post-summit consensus checklist released on Wednesday.
There were also 274 new scholarships for Pacific students and vocational training places in China for 500 islanders.
The two sides committed to accelerate negotiations on a free-trade agreement, with Beijing agreeing to facilitate exports from the island nations to China.
Wang said on Wednesday that there were no political strings attached to China’s assistance, while reaffirming Beijing’s firm support for the sovereignty and independence of the island nations.
Yu, a specialist in China’s ties with the Pacific region, said that offers of infrastructure and trade would be appealing, with the economy and employment high on the agenda of the Pacific Island nations.
“China’s hard and soft power is expected to be further strengthened,” he said.