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习近平会见美国工商界和战略学术界代表
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China, Australia should join hands to promote prosperity, stability of Solomon Islands: envoy

Source: Xinhua | 2022-01-21

CANBERRA, Jan. 21 (Xinhua) -- China and Australia should join hands in promoting prosperity and stability of the Solomon Islands, said a Chinese envoy in Australia.

In an opinion piece published Friday on the Australian Financial Review, Wang Xining, charge d'affaires of the Chinese Embassy in Australia, said that China and Australia have important converging interests and broad areas for cooperation in promoting prosperity and stability of island countries.

He started the article by talking about China's stance on the riot taking place in November 2021 in Honiara, capital of the Solomon Islands, as well as the aid China provided to the country.

He noted that law enforcement cooperation between China and the Solomon Islands derives from the need to maintain stability and end violence, and is conducive to the law enforcement capacity-building of the Solomon Islands.

It is in the interest of all parties and is conducive to strengthening solidarity and cooperation among countries in the region, and does not affect Australia's interests in the Solomon Islands, the envoy wrote, adding, "It is conducive to promoting prosperity and stability in neighbor areas around Australia."

"The law enforcement cooperation between China and the Solomon Islands is transparent and open, following the principles of mutual respect for sovereignty and non-interference in each other's internal affairs, and there are no political conditions attached," Wang wrote.

Noting that the riot also devastated the Chinatown and left hundreds of overseas Chinese homeless, Wang stressed that it is an "unshirkable responsibility" of the Chinese government to protect the safety and property of overseas Chinese citizens, and that the law enforcement cooperation is "a powerful means of protecting the common interests of the people of China and the Solomon Islands."

"China's assistance is in line with the urgent needs of the Solomon Islands, and is effectively complementing the assistance provided by Australia," the envoy wrote.

The assistance "helps reduce Australia's pressure and cost of maintaining stability in the Solomon Islands, enhances mutual trust between the Solomon Islands and its development partners, and contributes to the prosperity and stability of Australia's surrounding areas," he wrote.

Wang made it clear that China does not agree with the mentality of treating the island region as a geopolitical arena.

He believed that China's support and assistance for the Solomon Islands is a "new example of the traditional logic and facts of how China develops relations with developing countries, that is, sovereign states can and should cooperate, on the basis of common interests and with a focus on regional prosperity and stability."

"We are ready to maintain communication with the Australian side and make joint efforts to bring the situation of the Solomon Islands back to stability at an early date," he wrote. 

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