On Monday, Wang Yi, the Chinese Foreign Minister, urged Australia and New Zealand to see Beijing's growing international footprint as an opportunity; at the time, he urged both countries to involve in cooperation in the Pacific Island Countries (PICs).
RELATED:
China Launches Mission to Complete Space Station Construction
The Chinese official exposed its willingness to hold "trilateral" and "quadrilateral "projects regarding the PICs and called on New Zealand to remain its "independent foreign policy." Wang commented during a social media interview that China has "no intention of competing with anyone for any influence, nor are we interested in engaging in any geopolitical competition."
He emphasized that China's government "respects the traditional links" that the Pacific nations have established with Australia and New Zealand. "China will continue to adopt an open attitude and carry out more trilateral or quadrilateral cooperation with Australia and New Zealand in the South Pacific region, according to the wishes of Pacific Island countries to leverage our respective strengths and form greater synergy," Wang said.
The Chinese diplomat remarked the some of the developmental projects in partnership previously held with Canberra and Wellington. The comments came in the scenario of the end of his keenly-watched eight-nation visit between 26 May and 4 June to several southern Pacific countries.
Beijing's 'position paper' during Wang's multi-country tour indicated that the Chinese government was "committed to deepening its comprehensive strategic partnership" with the Pacific Island nations.
The document on Chinese foreign policy called for the promotion of "regional peace and security" and urged to "combat transnational crime including cyber-crime, and jointly tackle non-traditional security threats."