China, South Pacific trade talks being explored, and the islands want to gauge China’s ‘appetite’
- South Pacific is no longer the ‘hole of the Asia-Pacific doughnut’, and the biggest economies want a bigger bite
- China is also looking to cement an economic foothold in the region, but such formal pacts often take years to negotiate and rubber stamp
China and a group of South Pacific island countries could start talks this year toward their first formal trade agreement, according to an official from a regional network of nations.
But while such talks could provide a boost to Beijing’s offshore economic ambitions as US influence spreads in the region, a potential pact is not expected any time soon.
The idea of a trade deal is in its “embryonic stage”, said Zarak Khan, director of programmes and initiatives with the secretariat of the 18-member Pacific Islands Forum.
Feasibility studies have been carried out, he added, and forum members “are interested in getting more preferential market access for South Pacific goods”.
You can see that the South Pacific is keen to sign, and the world is paying attention to the South Pacific
“We need to know what the appetite is from the Chinese side,” Khan told the Post on Tuesday.
“You can see that the South Pacific is keen to sign, and the world is paying attention to the South Pacific,” he added. “The Pacific, for a long time, was neglected. Some people have said the Pacific was the hole of the Asia-Pacific doughnut, but discussions were happening on the periphery.”