China has pledged stronger support to Pacific Island nations in combating climate change, offering new investments and infrastructure projects, as it looks to expand its regional influence while U.S. aid remains stalled.
China will step up its support to Pacific Island nations in addressing climate change, Foreign Minister Wang Yi announced during a summit held in Xiamen on Wednesday, according to a statement from the Chinese Foreign Ministry.
Wang pledged that China—the world’s second-largest economy and largest bilateral lender—will launch 100 "small but beautiful" projects in countries with diplomatic ties to Beijing over the next three years. The projects are part of China’s Belt and Road Initiative, a global infrastructure strategy championed by President Xi Jinping.
In addition, China will invest $2 million in Pacific nations to develop clean energy, enhance fisheries and ocean sustainability, build low-carbon infrastructure, and promote eco-friendly tourism. While the amount is modest, it reflects a broader reduction in Chinese overseas lending amid the country’s slowing $19 trillion economy.
"China fully recognises the vulnerability of the economic and social development of the Pacific Island countries in the face of the climate change crisis," the foreign ministry’s statement said.
The announcement comes as U.S. aid programs in the region remain frozen and several Pacific nations contend with steep U.S. tariffs. China’s move is seen as part of a renewed effort to bolster its strategic and diplomatic presence in the Pacific, a region increasingly caught in the geopolitical rivalry between Beijing and Washington.
Beijing’s latest commitments aim to strengthen cooperation in climate adaptation and sustainable development—key concerns for low-lying Pacific Island states that face existential threats from rising sea levels and extreme weather.
U.S. President Donald Trump's threats to make the Strait of Hormuz U.S. territory have been mocked by Iran's Deputy Foreign Minister, ...
The U.S. will impose unprecedented measures on Iran in order to economically isolate the country, U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has said...
Georgia could gain a direct electricity link to Europe under plans for a new overland energy corridor connecting Azerbaijan, Georgia, Türkiye ...
Flights at Catania airport in Sicily will remain suspended until early Friday as ash from Mount Etna continues to disrupt air travel, following hundreds of cancellations and diversions over the past week.
Hundreds of flights have been cancelled or rerouted at Catania Airport over the past week as ash from Mount Etna’s ongoing eruption continues to disrupt air travel in Sicily.
Iran says the Strait of Hormuz remains under its control, rejecting U.S. President Donald Trump’s claim of “total control” over the strategic waterway and insisting it will not reopen until Washington fulfils its commitments under an interim deal.
The U.S. will impose unprecedented measures on Iran in order to economically isolate the country, U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has said.
Russia has accused Ukraine of threatening global grain supplies after recent strikes on Black Sea agricultural infrastructure, while Moscow carried out a new overnight attack on Ukraine’s major Danube port of Izmail.
Rhossi, a rare Kemp’s ridley sea turtle that washed up near death on a Welsh beach in 2023, has returned to Texas after more than two years of rehabilitation in the UK.
Glacier coverage in Kyrgyzstan’s Issyk-Kul Basin has shrunk by 33.7 per cent over the past 70–90 years, according to an updated glacier inventory by Kyrgyzhydromet. The agency says the pace of glacier retreat has accelerated sharply in recent years.
Extreme heat and historically low river levels are forcing nuclear power plants across Southeast Europe to reduce production, increasing pressure on already stretched electricity supplies and prompting governments to call for lower consumption.
Flash floods in Gansu Province in China's northwest last week killed 25 people and injured 23 more, the official Xinhua news agency reported on Sunday, raising earlier death tolls.
Three firefighters have died as wildfires continue to burn across Greece, with Crete facing a second day of intense blazes driven by strong winds. The fires come as Europe battles destructive wildfires fuelled by extreme heat and drought.
You can download the AnewZ application from Play Store and the App Store.
What is your opinion on this topic?
Leave the first comment