Chinese officials held a foreign ministers' meeting with Pacific Island countries in Xiamen on the 28th. After the meeting, China released a six-point initiative, announcing the provision of $2 million (approximately 846.34 MYR) to the island countries to address climate change.
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi hosted the 3rd China-Pacific Island Countries Foreign Ministers' Meeting in Xiamen, Fujian Province, from the 28th to the 29th. Foreign ministers or representatives from 11 Pacific Island countries that have diplomatic relations with China, as well as the Deputy Secretary-General of the Pacific Islands Forum Nayasi, were invited to attend.
This foreign ministers' meeting is the first to be held in China in person since the establishment of the China-Pacific Island Countries Foreign Ministers' Meeting mechanism in 2021.
Following the meeting, the Chinese Foreign Ministry posted on its official website a six-point initiative concerning the deepening of cooperation with Pacific Island countries in addressing climate change.
The initiative from China highlights that Beijing fully recognizes the vulnerabilities of the Pacific Island countries in terms of economic and social development and in the face of the climate change crisis. It announced an investment of $2 million to further expand cooperation with these island countries in the fields of clean energy, agriculture, fisheries, oceans, low-carbon infrastructure, low-carbon tourism, and disaster prevention and reduction.
The funds will also help the Pacific Island countries optimize their energy structures, promote industrial upgrades, and enhance their capacities to achieve the United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and Sustainable Development Goals, better addressing climate change.
China's initiative also announces that over the next three years, Beijing will implement 100 'small yet beautiful' projects aimed at enhancing the climate resilience of grassroot communities in the Pacific Island countries.
The initiative calls on developed countries to earnestly fulfill their obligations, live up to their commitments, and provide sufficient financial, technological, and capacity-building support to developing countries. It opposes the adoption of unilateral restrictive measures and the setting up of green trade barriers under the pretext of addressing climate change.
China will also share early warning technologies and practices, providing high-frequency meteorological disaster monitoring to Pacific Island countries through Fengyun meteorological satellites.
Wang Yi and Kiribati President and Foreign Minister Maamau jointly chaired the China-Pacific Island Countries Foreign Ministers' Meeting in Xiamen, and the two jointly met with journalists afterward.
Wang Yi stated that in the face of global climate change, human society must unite in response. He expressed deep regret over the withdrawal of a major country from the Paris Agreement. Regardless of the changing situation, China's determination to support and participate in leading global climate governance remains unchanged, and its active implementation of climate change South-South cooperation actions remains unchanged.