Trade between China and Pacific island countries may exceed 2 billion U.S. dollars this year and 3 billion U.S. dollars in 2010, Commerce Minister Chen Deming said in Xiamen on Sunday.
Chen made the remarks at the Investment, Trade and Tourism Ministerial Conference of the China-Pacific Island Countries Economic Development and Cooperation Forum in Xiamen City of east China's Fujian Province.
Twenty officials from 11 Pacific island countries attended the forum, which is held alternately in China and a Pacific island country. The first forum was held in Nadi of Fiji in April 2006.
"China and the Pacific island countries have enhanced their relationship and enlarged their cooperation. Direct investment from Chinese enterprises to the latter topped 300 million U.S. dollars," said Chen.
China will provide more favorable import tax policies for the Pacific island countries, he said.
The mutual trade had kept increasing by 27 percent annually on average in the past five years, which will continue to be enhanced by five main principals after the announcement of six measures in 2006, Chen said.
Based on the China-Pacific Island Countries Economic Development Cooperation Guiding Framework, which was signed at the first forum two years ago, the five principals had been made covering zero-tariff treatment policies, basic infrastructures, tourism and capacity building.
According to Chen, China will extend the neutral trade by doubling the trade volume of 2007 and reach 3 billion U.S. dollars by 2010. The government will increase the programs of zero-tariff treatment, encourage the investment cooperation on basic infrastructures, agriculture, forestry, fishery, telecommunication and tourism, by providing governmental loans and commercial financing.
Cooperation on energy will be listed as a major field of future plan as China will continue to share technologies of energy conservation, recycling and developing substitute energies with the islands.
More technological exchanges on agriculture, seed growing, food storage and disease and pest control will be staged to raise the productive capacity on the islands.
The six measures, announced by Premier Wen Jiabao in 2006 in Fiji, including a preferential loan of 3 billion yuan (about 434.7 million U.S. dollars), special funds, zero-tariff treatment for some of the least developed island countries and free anti-malaria drugs, had been effective in developing mutual trade.
By the end of 2007, non-financial direct investment of China to the islands was 310 million U.S. dollars. The investment mainly concentrated in the fields of resources development, fisheries, aviation services and construction services.
The volume of contracted project and labor service cooperation amounted to 2.57 billion U.S. dollars, with completed turnover of 15.9 billion U.S. dollars last year.
China had provided about 180 million U.S. dollars preferential loans and carried out zero-tariff treatment for 278 tax categories of commodities from the Independent State of Samoa and the Republic of Vanuatu. China has trained 1,200 officials and technicians for the countries and plans to train 700 more in 2008.
The Chinese government has exempted some countries from debts, provided anti-malaria drugs and sent medical teams to the islands. Agreements on tourism and construction of earthquake observation stations had been signed with the Independent State of Papua New Guinea and the Republic of Vanuatu respectively.
As a member of the Pacific Island countries, the Kingdom of Tonga had benefited from China's support as its central commerce zone, covering 30,000 km in the capital of the country, had been built thanks to the 58 million U.S. dollars of preferential loan from the Export-Import Bank of China, said Fineasi Funaki, minister of tourism of Tonga.
"No political terms had been afflicted to the help. China is the real friend of Tonga," he told Xinhua.
More economic cooperation agreements were acquired at the forum.
China's enterprises from Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region had brought new technologies to raise the output of black pearl in the Cook Islands which is famed of black pearl, said Terepai Maoate, deputy prime minister of Cook Islands, who has just been to northeast China's Shandong Province for investigation.
"We are seeking more cooperation on aquaculture with Chinese enterprises," he told Xinhua.
More investment had been undertaking as a group of 38 Chinese enterprises came to Brazil to investigate the investment environment last year, said Gabrial Kapris, minister of commerce and industry of Papua New Guinea.
China has become the third largest trade partner of Papua New Guinea. More investment in the fields of high-benefit industries had been expected, he said.
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