Visiting Solomon Islands Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare (right) and his Chinese counterpart Li Qiang review an honour guard during a welcome ceremony at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on July 10, 2023. - Reuters
BEIJING (Bloomberg): The Solomon Islands became the latest Pacific island nation to open an embassy in China, stepping up ties with Beijing as Washington seeks to ramp up its presence in the region.
Solomon Islands Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavar is on a week-long visit to China and spoke about the move Monday in a meeting with Premier Li Qiang.
"I am here also to officially open the Solomon Islands embassy,” Sogavar told Li at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing. "This, of course, reaffirms our desire to keep investing and strengthening Solomon Islands-China relations.”
The two sides also signed agreements including items on cooperation in civil air transport, rural development and trade promotion.
The Solomon Islands switched diplomatic recognition to Beijing from Taiwan in September 2019. A security accord between Beijing and Honiara raised alarm in New Zealand and Australia last year on fears it would allow for a Chinese military presence in the South Pacific.
The island’s government has insisted it has no intention of allowing that to happen.
Earlier this year, the US reopened its embassy in the Solomon Islands and launched a diplomatic blitz among Pacific Island nations.
