China, Pacific island countries to forge closer cooperation via platforms

NANJING, June 16 (Xinhua) -- A briefing session on China-Pacific Island Countries (PICs) multilateral cooperation platforms was held in Nanjing, east China's Jiangsu Province, on Tuesday.

Qian Bo, China's special envoy for PICs affairs, said seven multilateral cooperation platforms have delivered on four global initiatives proposed by China, tapped into local resources, aligned with actual needs of PICs, and facilitated pragmatic cooperation with PICs.

They have played a significant role in helping PICs improve climate change response capacity, respond to natural disasters, accelerate agricultural development, advance poverty alleviation, and strengthen police authorities' law enforcement capacity, Qian added.

To support the island countries' development and implement the consensus reached at previous China-Pacific Island Countries Foreign Ministers' Meetings, the seven platforms were established, covering fields including emergency material reserve, climate change cooperation, poverty reduction and development, disaster prevention and mitigation, agriculture, and police training.

Over 100 participants attended the event, including diplomatic envoys and representatives from Vanuatu, Samoa, Fiji, Solomon Islands, Papua New Guinea, Kiribati, the Federated States of Micronesia and Tonga, heads of the seven multilateral cooperation platforms, as well as representatives from relevant universities, think tanks, enterprises and institutions.

At the briefing, directors of the seven platforms comprehensively reviewed the outcomes of China's cooperation with PICs in recent years, and held in-depth exchanges and discussions centered on deepening practical cooperation and aligning with the development strategies of the PICs.

Diplomatic envoys from PICs noted that the platforms have delivered tangible benefits to the development of their countries. They expressed the expectation that, relying on the communication mechanism established through this briefing, the two sides will further deepen project matching, expand cooperation areas, and leverage the strengths of local resources to launch more livelihood cooperation projects that benefit the people at the grassroots level.