China recently hosted a high-level, two-day meeting in Xiamen with leaders and top diplomats from 11 Pacific Island nations, including Kiribati, Niue, Tonga, Nauru, Micronesia, Solomon Islands, Vanuatu, Papua New Guinea, Cook Islands, Fiji, and Samoa. Chaired by Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, this was the third such gathering but the first held in person on Chinese soil. The meeting aimed to deepen diplomatic and economic ties, promote a “closer” China-Pacific community with a “shared future,” and discuss pressing regional issues such as trade, infrastructure development, poverty alleviation, sustainability, climate change, and security.

According to reports from Al Jazeera correspondent Katrina Yu, the meeting underscores China’s efforts to expand its influence in the Pacific amid waning U.S. engagement. The backdrop includes U.S. foreign aid cuts and tariff threats under former President Donald Trump, which have generated global uncertainty and left an opening for China to enhance its regional role. Analysts note that China’s sustained presence contrasts with the U.S.’s less consistent engagement, making Beijing a more reliable partner for many Pacific nations seeking investment, infrastructure development, trade relations, and even security assistance.

China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced that the gathering’s objective was to “jointly build an even closer China-Pacific Island countries community with a shared future.” Experts interpret this as Beijing’s broader strategy to increase economic aid, deepen diplomatic ties, and pursue a regional security framework. A major example of this strategy is China’s 2022 security agreement with the Solomon Islands, signed after the deployment of Chinese police in the capital, Honiara, amid social unrest. Beijing has also sent advisors to Vanuatu and Kiribati, signaling its intention to establish similar pacts with other island nations.

Mihai Sora, director of the Pacific Islands Program at Australia’s Lowy Institute, explains that China aims to position itself as a security player in the Pacific, contributing to the individual security needs of these countries, such as policing. The Xiamen meeting offered China an opportunity to advance these ambitions “in its own space, on its own turf and on its own terms.”

Another significant topic expected at the meeting was Taiwan, a self-governed island that China claims as its territory. Beijing has actively reduced the number of Pacific nations recognizing Taiwan, with Nauru switching its diplomatic recognition to China as recently as January of the previous year. Taiwan’s remaining allies in the region are limited to the Marshall Islands, Palau, and Tuvalu.

The Pacific region holds considerable strategic, military, and diplomatic value for China. Despite the relatively small size and populations of these island nations—Papua New Guinea is the only country with over one million residents—the area hosts critical shipping lanes, deep-sea communication cables, ports, and potential underwater mineral deposits. From a military perspective, the region could serve as a strategic launch point for future conflicts, including forward attacks on U.S. territory, especially given the proximity of the U.S. ally Australia.

In summary, the Xiamen meeting reflects China’s concerted efforts to strengthen its political, economic, and security footprint in the Pacific, leveraging regional vulnerabilities and reduced U.S. presence to build a closer, cooperative China-Pacific Island community aligned with Beijing’s strategic interests.