Solomon Islands leader visits China

Leaders of the Solomon Islands and China promised on Monday to expand relations that have fuelled unease in Washington and Australia about Beijing’s influence in the South Pacific.

Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare met Chinese leader Xi Jinping and the country’s No. 2 leader, Premier Li Qiang. Mr. Sogavare and Mr. Li presided over the signing of agreements on police, economic and technical cooperation.

“We are here to further boost relations,” Mr. Sogavare told Mr. Li following a ceremony at which a Chinese military band played the Solomon Islands national anthem.

The Solomon Islands, 2,000 kilometres northeast of Australia, has been China’s biggest success in a campaign to expand its presence in the South Pacific.

Mr. Sogavare’s government switched official recognition in 2019 to Beijing from Taiwan, the self-governed island democracy claimed by the mainland’s ruling Communist Party as part of its territory.