Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin announced today that on May 26, State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi will begin a ten-day tour of eight Pacific Island nations–Solomon Islands, Kiribati, Samoa, Fiji, Tonga, Vanuatu, Papua New Guinea, and Timor-Leste—in addition to a virtual visit with the Federated States of Micronesia. He will also hold a video conference with the Prime Minister and Foreign Minister of the Cook Islands and the Premier and Foreign Minister of Niue. During his visit, he will also host the second China-Pacific Island Countries Foreign Ministers’ Meeting in Fiji, the first time this meeting has been held on a South Pacific Island country. He will finish his travels on June 4.
Wang Yi’s tour will come just a few days after the conclusion of today’s Quad meeting and the U.S.’s introduction of the boondoggle known as the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework (IPEF), touted as a new economic alliance of Southeast Asian countries but which is a barely disguised as a tool to contain or decouple China. It has nothing of substance to offer those nations that “sign up” and certainly provides no opportunities for the real economic and infrastructural development they most desire.
