There is nothing unusual about Chinese companies experiencing issues when investing in Pacific island states or elsewhere, the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs said yesterday, after an attempt by a Chinese firm to lease an island in the Solomons was rebuffed.
The Solomon Islands government last week said that a deal signed by one of its provinces to lease the entire island of Tulagi to a Chinese company is unlawful and should be terminated, a move applauded by the US.
Details of the long-term lease between the Solomons’ Central Province and China Sam Enterprise Group were made public shortly after the Pacific nation switched diplomatic ties to Beijing from Taiwan last month.
The shift was strongly criticized by the US.
Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman Geng Shuang (耿爽) said at a daily briefing in Beijing that there had been a “fair amount” of media attention on the case, and that is was their understanding the local government had not sought permission for the project from the central government.
China has always told its companies they must respect local laws and international rules when operating abroad, and that they were encouraging the Chinese company involved in this case to talk to the Solomons government to “appropriately” resolve the issue, Geng said.
“I’d like to say here that it is very normal for Chinese companies investing in or looking for commercial opportunities overseas, including in the Pacific island state region, to maybe have some issues in this process,” he said.
However, the US was “abnormally excited” about this particular case, with even the US Secretary of Defense Mark Esper weighing in, looking to smear China’s relationship with the region, he added.
“We no longer wonder at the sight of these cheap tricks, but can’t help ask the Americans, do you really care about the interests of Pacific island states and their people? Or do you care more about your geopolitical interests? I think the US side should give a clear answer,” Geng said.
Though tiny in land mass, Pacific islands such as Tulagi have re-emerged as a strategic priority for the world’s biggest nations, which are keen to lock-in alliances with countries that control vast swaths of resource-rich ocean between the Americas and Asia.
Esper had applauded the Solomons’ decision to invalidate the agreement, which he lauded as “an important decision to reinforce sovereignty, transparency, and the rule of law.”
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