Chinese Prime Minister Wen Jiabao's upcoming visit to the
Republic of the Fiji Islands is of great significance to promoting
ties between China and Fiji and other Pacific Island countries as
well, said a Chinese official on Monday.
At the invitation of Fijian Prime Minister Laisenia Qarase, Wen
will pay an official visit to Fiji on April 4-5.
This is the first official visit to a Pacific Island country by
a Chinese premier, said Liu Jieyi, director-general of the
Department of North American and Oceanian Affairs of the Chinese
Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in an exclusive interview with
Xinhua.
The visit is set to succeed in enhancing mutual trust, deepening
bilateral cooperation, broadening exchanges, seeking common
development and promoting the long-term stable development of
friendly relations and cooperation between China and Fiji, said
Liu.
Fiji, which is a major player among the Pacific island
countries, is also the first Pacific island country to have forged
diplomatic ties with the People's Republic of China in 1975.
In recent years, China and Fiji have witnessed stable
development of bilateral ties, and the two countries see new
opportunities to further promote their relationship, said Liu.
China and Fiji have been maintaining high-level exchanges and
contacts and expanding fields of cooperation. The trade volume
between China and Fiji stood at US$45.27 million in 2005, up by
16.9 percent from the previous year. There is also great potential
for the two countries to cooperate in such areas as agriculture,
fishery and forestry, said Liu.
During Premier Wen's stay in Fiji, he will hold talks with
Fijian President Josefa Iloilo and his Fijian counterpart Laisenia
Qarase. The leaders will exchange views on Sino-Fijian ties and
other regional and international issues of mutual concern. They
will also chart, in a comprehensive way, the future development of
bilateral ties.
The two sides will sign a series of bilateral cooperation
agreements covering trade and economy, economic and technological
cooperation, quality inspection and telecommunications.
(Xinhua News Agency April 5, 2006 )
