This content was first published by Radio Free Asia, and it is now being reprinted with permission.
As the Pacific head wrapped up a 10-day attend to the Eastern power before taking part in a significant regional community the following week, Chinese President Xi Jinping pledged to strengthen ties with Fiji and help Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka’s strategy for an “ocean of peace.”  ,
Fiji’s relations with China have cooled under Rabuka, who , update a policeman assistance agreement , with Beijing earlier this year in what was a major blow to Chinese security hobbies in the South Pacific.  ,
Beijing has hosted some Pacific Island officials in recent months, including Vanuatu Prime Minister Charlot Salwai,  , Nauruan President David Adeang , and Solomon Islands chief Jeremiah Manele.
After visiting Zhejiang and Fujian’s financial hubs and observing efforts to end hunger in Yunnan province, Rabuka and Xi met with him in Beijing’s Great Hall of the People.  ,
China is prepared to assist Fiji and another Pacific island nations in coping with climate change, and it will improve its assistance with them to make the Pacific Ocean an seas of harmony, friendship, and assistance, according to a report released on Tuesday by the state news agency Xinhua.
Rabuka, who led two coups in Fiji in the late 1980s, has called for Pacific island nations to declare their ocean territories a , “zone of peace”  , as the United States and China jostle for influence in the region. At the upcoming Pacific Island Forum ( PIF ) leaders meeting in Tonga next week, a formal declaration will be discussed.
Rabuka said that Fiji was ready to learn from China’s experience and keen to increase collaboration in poverty reduction, infrastructure and connectivity, Xinhua said.
On Sunday, Rabuka held talks with China’s No. 2 official Premier Li Qiang. The two leaders said they were committed to deepening cooperation in trade, infrastructure, agriculture, fisheries and tourism, according to a statement from the Chinese government.
China stated that it was prepared to increase foreign investment in the nation and import more goods from Fiji. Rabuka and Li were present when the cooperation agreements for trade and infrastructure construction were signed, but no specifics were given.  ,
Rabuka had stated in a statement from the Fijian foreign ministry that she wanted to” transform the country’s infrastructure in the years to come” with regard to Suva.
The Fijian government made the announcement earlier this week that a Chinese language program would be developed to teach Mandarin, Chinese culture, and values in Fijian classrooms.
After leaving China, Rabuka was scheduled to travel to New Caledonia for a PIF fact-finding mission, but it was postponed due to rumors of disagreement between Paris and the territory’s pro-independence governing coalition. At the 53rd PIF leaders forum, finding a long-lasting solution to the unrest in New Caledonia will be a top priority.  ,
The second-largest economy in the world has grown to become a more significant trading, investment, and aid partner for Fiji.
Fiji, the first island nation in the Pacific to establish diplomatic relations with the People’s Republic of China, is a focal point for Beijing’s diplomatic efforts there.  ,
Beijing’s relations with Fiji burgeoned in particular after Australia, New Zealand and other countries sought to punish it for Frank Bainimarama’s 2006 coup that ousted the elected government.  ,
China and China agreed to cooperate in a police cooperation agreement in 2011 under the auspices of Bainimarama. China provided the country with equipment and surveillance technology like drones.  ,
However, Rabuka reviewed the agreement in 2023, and a decision was made this year to cap short-term deployments of Chinese officers and restrain intelligence sharing.  ,
