The Diplomatic Relation between the Kingdom of Tonga and the People’s Republic of China is warm and vibrant, Hon. ‘Akilisi Pohiva the Prime Minister and Lord Tu’ivakano, the Speaker of the Tongan Parliament reassured a Chinese National People’s Congress delegation that visited Nuku’alofa this week.

The 15-members delegation led by HiE Ailingeng Yimmingbahai the Vice Chairman of the 12^th Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress of the People’s Republic of China (NPCPRC), arrived in Tonga on 17 January and left yesterday 19 January.

The purpose of their three-days visit, according to the Chinese Embassy in Nuku’alofa, was “to further promote the exchanges and cooperation between the two countries”.

Both the Prime Minister and the Speaker of the Tongan Legislative Assembly, also told the delegation that Tonga is overwhelmed with China’s bilateral assistance to Tonga’s development.

In a closed meeting between the Prime Minister with some members of his Cabinet, and the NPCPRC delegation on 18 January, the Prime Minister's Office reported that Hon ‘Akilisi Pohiva acknowledged China’s bilateral assistance programme as being commendable “for its size and outreach.”

He highlighted other cooperation programs, including the mutual visa exemption, squash exports to China, a scholarships program, and the donation of the MA60 aircraft. China’s assistance in other construction works in Nuku’alofa, the construction of St George Palace, and the preparation for the 2019 Pacific Games.

In response, HE Ailingeng Yimmingbahai reminded the PM and his Cabinet Ministers that the leaders of China and Tonga in 2014 had endorsed a Strategic Partnership Agreement. The agreement chartered the course for future development of bilateral ties, and since 2014 the two countries have had frequent exchanges in areas such as trade, tourism, infrastructure construction and agriculture.

“China’s One-Belt, One Road initiative may be the biggest and most significant global economic initiative today,” Lord Tu’ivakano, the Speaker of the Tongan Parliament and a former Prime Minister, told the delegation in the Tongan Parliament yesterday.

Lord Tu’ivakano also praised China for its establishment of the Maritime Silk Road, which links China and the Pacific Islands, including Tonga by sea, “allows the development of ports and shipping routes which has the capability to improve trade and investments between our two countries.”

He also pointed out that after Australia, China is the second-largest trading partner of the Pacific Islands. “China’s total trade with all Pacific countries, was as high as $4.5 billion in recent years.”

China had also become an important market for many of the Pacific Island economies in terms of exporting agricultural and fisheries products.

China’s many aid projects in Tonga, included St George Palace, a $25m pa’anga building nearing completion in central Nuku’alofa, a gift from China. Lord Tu’ivakano told the delegation that “for many years to come, it will be a landmark and it will be symbolic of the investments that your people are making in Tonga.

“It is my hope, distinguished delegates that perhaps in the near future, the Legislative Assembly of Tonga would perhaps, be able to enjoy similar state of the art facilities.”

Tonga’s Parliamentary Building, is one of Nuku’alofa’s oldest wooden buildings, built in the 1890s.

Loans

Nothing was said about the Tongan government's two unpaid loans from the EXIM  Bank of China. Firstly, a USD$119 million loan for the reconstruction of Nuku’alofa after the riots in November 2006, followed by a $86 million pa’anga loan for road reconstruction. The government is supposed to have been repaying $5.4 million interest of the loans since 2007.