BY CHINESE AMBASSADOR H.E. CAI WEIMING
In May, HON. Matthew Wale was elected as the new Prime Minister of Solomon Islands and formed the new government. Chinese Premier Li Qiang and Foreign Minister Wang Yi sent congratulatory letters to both HON. PM Wale and HON. Foreign Minister Houenipwela upon their assuming respective offices, stressing that China attaches great importance to the development of China-SI relations, and is ready to work with the new government of SI to strengthen bilateral exchanges, deepen practical cooperation across all the fields, and promote China-SI relations to a new height. And I was honored to be invited to witness the swearing-in ceremony of HON. PM Wale and congratulate him personally, expressing China’s will to work together with the new government of SI to build on past achievements and further promote our bilateral relationship.
It has been almost 7 years since the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and SI. With joint efforts of both governments and the support from political parties and peoples from all walks of life, China-SI relations have been steadily uplifted with fruitful achievements across different sectors, standing at the forefront of China-Pacific Island countries relations, and setting an exemplary model for South-South cooperation. Our bilateral cooperation follows the Global Development Initiative, the Global Security Initiative, the Global Civilization Initiative and the Global Governance Initiative put forward by President Xi Jinping. And China always adheres to the principle of 4 fully respects during our cooperation, namely, fully respects the sovereignty and independence of SI; fully respects the will of SI; fully respects the culture and traditions of SI; fully respects Pacific island Countries’ efforts to seek strength through unity.
Guiding by those important principles, the high-level exchanges between China and SI have continuously enhanced, with our mutual trust steadily strengthened. We have firmly supported each other on issues regarding our core interests and major concerns, constantly deepened our Comprehensive Strategic Partnership Featuring Mutual Respect and Common Development, and worked hand in hand to build a China-SI Community with a Shared Future in the New Era.
At the same time, our practical cooperation has been flouring.
—China is the top trading partner for SI, and has implemented zero tariffs to all SI products exported to China. In the past 7 years, our bilateral trade volume exceeded 3.5 billion USD, or which SI exports to China exceeded 2.3 billion USD, bringing tangible benefits to the people of SI.
—-China and SI are good partners under the Belt & Road Initiative. China helped implement multiple transformational infrastructure projects like sports stadium, university campus, hospital, power station, roads, bridges, seaports, airports, communication towers in Honiara and almost all 9 provinces of SI, not only helped give this country a face-lift, but more importantly, helped improve lives and services while creating business opportunities and generating incomes for local government and communities. In addition, China has supported a wide range of “small yet smart” projects across the rural areas, enhancing the livelihood of people living in remote regions.
—-China and SI are good partners in health service. China has donated urgently needed funding and medical supplies worth millions of SBD to the health service of SI. As an important part of China Aid, the China Medical Team has treated more than 63,000 local patients in NRH and carried out hundreds of surgeries, many are groundbreaking surgeries in fields of cardiology and urology. They went from time to time to other provinces and brought urgently needed medical attention to door steps of those who found it difficult to travel to Honiara, demonstrating the true spirit of dedication and compassion.
—-China and SI are good partners in policing cooperation which aims to help strengthen the capacity and capability of RSIPF, so that RSIPF could execute its duties confidently and independently. We are proud to see that, with the help of Chinese Police Liaison Team and the hard work of RSIPF officers, the first RSIPF SWAT team made an excellent performance in the international competition earlier this year, which greatly boost the confidence of RSIPF.
Further more, our people-to-people exchanges have become more frequent, bringing our two peoples closer. It is more easy to travel between our two countries thanks to the visa-free arrangement. More than 1200 Solomon Islanders have undertaken training programs in China. More than 200 SI students are studying in Chinese universities with full scholarships, which empowers human resource development of SI. And almost all the provinces of SI have pairings with China’s provinces, supporting SI ’s provincial development.
In my conversation with friends from SI, I always point out that, for a tree to grow tall and luxuriant, its roots must run deep and strong, And the root of our bilateral relationship is the one-China principle, That is the political foundation of China-SI relations, and also the important basis for China to develop relations with all other countries and regional and international organizations. The connotation of the one-China principle is that: There is but one China in the world; Taiwan is an inalienable part of China’s territory; And the government of the People’s Republic of China is the sole legal government representing the whole of China. Since the adoption of UNGA Resolution 2758, the one-China principle has become the prevailing international consensus and a basic norm governing international relations. To uphold the one-China principle means resolute opposition to any form of so-called “Taiwan independence”, resolute opposition to any form of official exchanges with Taiwan authority, and support for China’s efforts to achieve national renunciation. Since 2019, SI Government has firmly adhered to the one-China principle. Recently, HON. PM Wale and HON. Foreign Minister Houenipwela also reiterated firm commitment to the one-China principle. China highly appreciates it.
The year 2026 marks the beginning of the implementation of China’s 15th Five-Year Plan. China enters into a critical stage in advancing the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation through Chinese modernization. At the same time, HON. PM Wale named its government as “GREAT Coalition” which reflects the new government’s confidence and determination to further enhance the development and transformation of SI. With similar vision and aspirations, China is willing to further align our strategic synergy with SI, consolidate our political mutual trust and deepen our practical cooperation, jointly forging ahead with our friendly relations and delivering more tangible benefits to the peoples of our two countries for a shared future.
