Beijing — Chinese President Xi Jinping pledged to strengthen ties with Fiji in a world beset with "turmoil" as he met the Pacific island's Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka in Beijing on Tuesday.
China has stepped up its courtship of South Pacific nations in recent years, triggering concern among Western powers — particularly the United States and Australia — that have historically held sway over the region.
Rabuka met Xi in Beijing's Great Hall of the People after touring the length and breadth of China for more than a week.
"(Our) two countries have always supported and helped each other as good friends, good partners, and have become a model of being equals and friendly cooperation between countries large and small," Xi told Rabuka.
He said Beijing was keen to "promote the building of a China-Fiji community with a shared future in a world of turmoil and chaos, and to bring more benefits to our people."
Xi also praised Fiji's recent sporting successes in rugby, for which it won a silver medal at the Paris Olympics last month.
Rabuka thanked the Chinese leader, telling Xi that "Fiji stands ready to send rugby coaches and players to come to China to play with Chinese teams."
He also hailed Xi's meeting last year with US President Joe Biden in San Francisco, where he said "you might have achieved peace for the world."
Rabuka has taken a more cautious line over China's growing security interests in the Pacific, praising Fiji's warming ties with Beijing while saying he preferred to deal with democratic "traditional friends" on security.
Fiji and China signed a series of bilateral deals on trade, military aid, infrastructure and Chinese-language education during Rabuka's trip, according to statements by both governments.
Premier Li Qiang pledged at a meeting with Rabuka on Sunday to boost imports from Fiji and encourage Chinese investment there, according to a Chinese government readout.
Rabuka also hailed Beijing's "tailor-made innovative poverty alleviation strategies" during a trip to Ningde city in eastern China's Fujian province.
The Fijian premier last met Xi at an Asia-Pacific economic summit in San Francisco last year, when the Chinese leader committed to helping Fiji safeguard its "security and sovereignty."
Rabuka said after those talks 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.
China alarmed Western countries when it signed a secretive defense pact with Solomon Islands last year, sparking fears it could deploy military forces there.
The Solomons' Prime Minister Jeremiah Manele visited China in June and the Pacific nation later said Beijing would inject $20 million into its government budget.
