The third plenary session of the 20th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China has issued a communique that sets out the overall direction for the country’s economic development. This meeting has garnered attention from economists and experts worldwide.
Recently, CGTN aired a special program to gather perspectives and insights from the Pacific region. Among the experts featured were Dr. Joseph Veramu, an economist and consultant at Fiji National University, and Dr. Michael Yang, the Secretary-General of the South Pacific Islands Institute of Asian Studies.
The recent institutional opening of China is seen as a new opportunity for the Pacific. David Mahon, Executive Chairman of Mahon China Investment Management, emphasized that this “opening up” needed to be clearly communicated, as it serves to reaffirm China’s receptiveness to investments and correct longstanding misconceptions about the nation. However, he noted the importance of clarifying which sectors are available for foreign investment.
Over the past two decades, Pacific island countries have collectively seen a rise in investments from China, a trend highlighted by Dr. Mahon, who remarked on the region being largely overlooked by the United States.