STORY: Chinese President Xi Jinping met with Fiji Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka for bilateral talks at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on Tuesday (August 20).
During their meeting, Xi said China is willing to work with Fiji to boost the countries’ relations amid a “turbulent world”.
China and the U.S. are competing for influence in the strategically-located Pacific Islands, and Rabuka’s visit to China, in what is his first as leader, takes place two weeks before Pacific Islands Forum leaders meet to consider an Australia-backed regional policing proposal.
Rabuka, who became prime minister in 2022, has proposed an “Ocean of Peace” foreign policy to Pacific leaders that envisions engagement with all major powers and avoids militarisation of the islands region.
