A Special Envoy for Pacific Island Countries of the People’s Republic of China, Qian Bo, has told Samoa media his country has no ulterior motives in the Pacific, or anywhere in the world.
He said he has scrutinized the AUKUS security pact, recently signed between the United States, Australia and the United Kingdom, amongst various issues.
Qian Bo said, China was concerned because the security pact represented a “cold war mentality being pursued by the US.”
Speaking in a press conference on Tuesday morning at the Embassy of the People’s Republic of China in Apia, he said China’s presence in the Pacific has been the subject of scrutiny; especially after a deal with the Solomon Islands Government.
He added that despite media reports, the US and China have been allies and, to date, work together.
He said China and the US have joint military exercises and were invited by the US, and we have military cooperation with the US.
“This region is not exclusive for Australia or New Zealand or for the US.”
The special envoy said these are sovereign states and Samoa has the right to engage with all countries including China, Japan, Korea and, even, India.
“People talk about the rising presence of China in the region, as I have said, the Chinese are not newcomers and our relationship with the region is a step-by-step approach.”
The envoy said his visits to the Pacific would become more regular as China tries to help the island nations within the Pacific develop.
His visit to Samoa this week comes on the back of the Australian and New Zealand Ministers for the Pacific, as well as Foreign Affairs visiting Samoa in the last two weeks.
The British Foreign Secretary, James Cleverly, also did a tour of the region last week and called into Papua New Guinea and Solomon Islands, but canceled the Samoa leg of his tour due to the crisis in Sudan.
Photo: Samoa Observer
