A meeting was convened yesterday between Prime Minister Josaia Voreqe Bainimarama and the State Councillor and Minister of Foreign Affairs of the People’s Republic of China, His Excellency Wang Yi.
In his remarks at the joint media conference that followed after the meeting, Prime Minister Bainimarama welcomed Minister Wang Yi to #Fiji.
“Much has changed since 2018 when Minister Wang Yi last visited us. A pandemic has completely upended the world economy, climate impacts have intensified, and Russia’s war in Ukraine has sent food, fuel and freight prices skyrocketing.
“We cannot retreat from the field of multi-lateralism in the face of these multiple crises. Indeed, global co-operation and international law have never mattered more,” Prime Minister Bainimarama said.
The Prime Minister said he had an excellent discussion with Minister Wang Yi, on strengthening partnership to take on the greatest threats faced in the Pacific.
“Our meeting today was guided by mutual respect and the common interest of our people’s continued socio-economic progress. We have a solid foundation on which to build; Fiji’s friendship with China has helped develop infrastructure, train our people, and deliver essential medical supplies which accelerated our post-pandemic recovery.
“As I have done with every Leader I meet, I sought a stronger commitment from China on climate action. As a global community, we remain woefully short of cutting emissions in line with the 1.5-degree Celsius target of the Paris Agreement –– and I will continue to push for a phase-out of coal and other fossil fuels by all economies as quickly and practically as possible.
“We also discussed the importance of combating illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing, opportunities to expand sustainable ocean management in the Pacific, and ways we help Fijian exporters land more of their high quality products and produce in the Chinese market,” Prime Minister Bainimarama said.
The Prime Minister said, “As we build back better and stronger, Fiji will continue to seek fertile ground for our bilateral relationships. The challenges our people face will only intensify until collective solutions rise to meet them.”
At the meeting, discussions centred on Fiji-China bilateral and multilateral areas of cooperation and evolving challenges of the post COVID era.
Following the meeting, State Councillor Wang Yi joined Prime Minister Bainimarama at the 2nd China-Pacific Island Countries (PICs) Foreign Ministers’ Meeting.
