State visits see ties upgraded, deals signed on extensive range of issues

President Xi Jinping returned to Beijing on Sunday after a tour of Oceania that included state visits to Australia, New Zealand and Fiji and reinforced China's image as both a partner and player in the Asia-Pacific region.

Calling the 10-day trip the "finale" of Chinese diplomacy in 2014, Foreign Minister Wang Yi said China enjoyed a fruitful diplomatic year by linking the country and the world more closely, with new thoughts, plans and mechanisms being proposed.

Chinese diplomacy in the new era has a better structure, greater influence and a broader road ahead, Wang said on Sunday.

Xi also attended the G20 summit in Brisbane, Australia, where he said China will provide the world with greater demand and create more market, investment and growth opportunities.

His visits saw China upgrade ties and seal a flurry of agreements with Australia, New Zealand and Fiji, as well as seven other South Pacific island nations.

Beijing and Canberra also declared the completion of a long-awaited free trade pact that will open up China's markets to Australian products.

Pang Zhongying, a professor of international relations at Renmin University of China, said the country, shouldering more responsibilities based on its international status, now contributes more to the world's economic recovery and global governance, including proposals to promote connectivity and free trade.

This contribution was evident on Saturday when Xi met leaders from Fiji, Papua New Guinea, Vanuatu, Micronesia, Samoa, Tonga, the Cook Islands and Niue. Their talks involved signing documents on a range of issues including climate change, a major concern of some low-lying island nations.

Xi pledged to "make more input" to these island countries, including providing them with 2,000 scholarships in the next five years, and offering zero-tariff preference for 97 percent of taxed items imported from the least developed countries.

Papua New Guinea Prime Minister Peter O'Neill said after his talks with Xi that it was important for the region to stay connected to the Asian powerhouse.

"China is a very important global player in terms of not only trade and investment, but in security and many other related issues and climate change," O'Neill said.

"For Xi, he has presided over a diversification of China's diplomatic links, a more proactive foreign policy and the creation of deeper links beyond the Asian region," Kerry Brown, director of the University of Sydney's China Studies Center, was quoted by Bloomberg as saying.

Comparing the nation to "a big guy in the crowd", Xi sought to allay concern over a rising China when he addressed the Australian Federal Parliament. While big in size, China would continue to pursue a peaceful development path, he said.

Pang said the links between China and the South Pacific island nations will continue to grow, but will not lead to China's dominance in the region or a change to Beijing's policy of not challenging existing global systems.

Fiji's Prime Minister Voreqe Bainimarama said Fiji, the first South Pacific island nation to forge diplomatic ties with China, wanted China to be fully engaged in the region.

"China never tried to interfere in our internal affairs," he said.

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(China Daily 11/24/2014 page3)