Jeremiah Manele, prime minister of the Solomon Islands, reiterated his country's commitment to the one-China principle during his recent official visit to China.
Manele's visit, which took place from July 9 to 15, included meetings with Chinese Premier Li Qiang on July 11 and Chinese President Xi Jinping on July 12.
In September 2019, the Solomon Islands terminated its so-called “diplomatic ties” with the Taiwan region and established relations with China. Central to this diplomatic shift is the acknowledgment that there is only one China in the world, with the People's Republic of China as its sole legitimate government, and Taiwan as an integral part of Chinese territory.
"I came here on this visit to once again reaffirm our commitment to the one-China principle. And I have expressed this to the Premier whom I met yesterday (July 11), as well as to the President whom I met this afternoon (July 12)," Manele said in an interview with the China Media Group recorded on July 12, and aired on July 19.
Regarding international concerns over interference in Taiwan, Manele, referencing the United Nations Charter, urged all countries to uphold principles of sovereignty and territorial integrity.
"We call on countries, all countries, to respect every country, to respect the one-China principle. Here, we are all sovereign, independent countries. And the UN Charter is very clear: respect for sovereignty and territorial integrity is one of those fundamental UN principles," Manele emphasized.
During his official visit, the two countries issued a joint statement, agreeing to deepen the China-Solomon Islands comprehensive strategic partnership for a new era featuring mutual respect and common development, and build the China-Solomon Islands community with a shared future in the new era.
Solomon Islands reaffirms commitment to one-China principle
Solomon Islands reaffirms commitment to one-China principle
Chinese President Xi Jinping's keynote speech at the 2024 Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) summit resonated with the common aspiration of more than 2.8 billion Chinese and African people and demonstrated China's firm will of moving forward hand-in-hand with Africa along the path of development, revitalization and modernization, several participants at the event have said.
In his speech on Thursday, Xi proposed that bilateral relations between China and all African countries having diplomatic ties with China be elevated to the level of strategic relations, and that the overall characterization of China-Africa relations be elevated to an all-weather China-Africa community with a shared future for the new era.
He also announced that the Chinese government will provide 360 billion yuan (about 50.8 billion U.S. dollars) of financial support to Africa over the next three years.
"Everyone was happy to hear those news, so everyone was clapping. So now we are going to a higher level of relations between China and Africa," said Hamidou, a counselor at the Embassy of Comoros in Beijing.
"China understands Africa's urgent desire to advance modernization. We can learn a lot from China's development," said Foreign Minister of Burkina Faso Karamoko Jean Marie Traore.
Xi also suggested 10 partnership actions for modernization that China will take together with Africa in the next three years to deepen China-Africa cooperation and spearhead modernization in the Global South.
"President Xi, through his long vision of the needs of countries and his interest in supporting development, has offered this as a real vehicle to promote exports of Africa to China, which is a huge market," said Alaa Ezz, secretary general of the Union of African Chambers of Commerce, Industry, Agriculture, and Professions (UACCIAP).
"As he told this morning, we have many projects in digitalization, in capacity building, in health centers, support for health, for infrastructure, in the framework of the Belt and [Road]. And we think that we are very satisfied with this partnership. This is a win-win partnership," said Gabriel Mbairobe, Cameroon's Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development.
Held in Beijing from Wednesday to Friday, the 2024 FOCAC summit brought together leaders from China and over 50 African countries, who highlighted the common pursuit of China and African countries in realizing modernization.
During the summit, both sides unanimously adopted two important documents -- a declaration on jointly building an all-weather China-Africa community with a shared future for the new era, and an action plan of the FOCAC for the next three years.
Xi's speech at FOCAC summit resonates with people's common aspiration: participants
