MARCH 7, 2023
PRIME Minister Hon. James Marape has reaffirmed Papua New Guinea’s relationship with the People’s Republic of China in the ‘Friends to All; Enemy to None’ diplomatic policy when he welcomed visiting Special Envoy, His Excellency Qian Bo today (07.03.23) to PNG.
Ambassador Qian was appointed by the Chinese Government in February this year as the Special Envoy for Pacific Island Countries and starts a tour of the Pacific beginning in PNG.
At a high-level meeting this morning at the Prime Minister’s Office, Sir Manasupe House in Waigani, Port Moresby, PM Marape and Ambassador Qian discussed various bi-lateral matters concerning their respective countries and the relationship both countries share.
“We are friend to all, enemy to none; we relate with East, West, North and South in the manner that do not compromise each other’s positions. We respect the sovereignty of nations,” said PM Marape.
“China has been a very important partner to PNG in all sense of a bilateral relationship – in politics, government-to-government, and business-to-business. We certainly welcome you to PNG. You are here in a country that is a very close friend of China.
“Your appointment as Special Envoy for the Pacific reflects your President’s commitment for a close rapport between your country and us in the Pacific. We appreciate this.”
The Prime Minister reiterated the Free Trade Agreement between the two countries and asked for the detailing of this to entail downstream processing and business operations in PNG, adding that this was the number one focus of his government.
“There is no relevance in government-to-government conversations if there is no security in my economy, and I would like China to embrace that line of thinking. We ask for a deep economic relationship that seals our people-to-people engagements, business-to-business, and on the basis of that, a good government-to-government relationship.”
PM Marape said with China’s capability in business and trade, PNG welcomed China, especially in the “upper industrial level in the economic zones”.
The Prime Minister also reiterated his earlier calls for China to consider opening up direct flights between Port Moresby and Shanghai in a co-sharing arrangement to tap into the Chinese tourism market.
“PNG will not compromise its relationship with China. Our Foreign Minister is working on our foreign policy that is coming out – key among them is the respect of the sovereignty of each nation,” he said.
PM Marape thanked Ambassador Qian for reaffirming China’s relationship with PNG.
Meanwhile, PM Marape has been invited to address the government of China in an important dialogue toward the end of this month, an offer the Prime Minister is yet to officially accept.
The invitation was delivered in person by visiting Chinese Special Envoy to the Pacific, Ambassador Qian Bo this morning in Port Moresby.
PM Marape in return thanked Ambassador Qian for the invitation as he paid special compliments on Chinese President Xi Jinping with whom he had a one-on-one dialogue during his visit to Bangkok for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation meeting at the end of last year.
“I have great respect for President Xi Jinping. I appreciate the invitation to engage at the leadership dialogue. It is a high honour for PNG to be picked possibly among many other nations.
“I want to also offer my congratulations on his re-election for an historic third term.
“Chinese stability ensures global world economy has a stable outlook. That is the contribution his re-election has given to the world.
“All economies depend on the stability of certain parts of the world and China is the leader in trade and commerce in our region. Where there is stability in leadership, the rest of the economies that depend on China can focus, plan and work better together
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