For years, Western media has sought to “weaponize” China-Pacific Islands cooperation, smearing mutually beneficial projects as tools of “influence expansion.”
An article published in Foreign Affairs on Monday once again framed China’s engagement with Pacific Island countries within the logic of geopolitical competition, portraying China’s economic cooperation as a threat to “the islands’ democratic institutions” and claiming that this has put their “vision of a peaceful and cohesive regional order” at risk of being eclipsed.
“This narrative equates ‘democracy’ with a single political model and uses it as a means to pressure the islands’ sovereign choices,” Chen Hong, director of New Zealand Studies Centre from East China Normal University, told the Global Times. Pacific Island countries are not passive pawns on a geopolitical chessboard, but active players pursuing development paths that serve their own interests through equal, pragmatic and mutually beneficial partnerships.
For Pacific Island nations, the most pressing issues are not abstract debates about political systems, but concrete challenges like economic diversification, climate adaptation, infrastructure improvement and people’s livelihoods. When a partner listens to their needs, aligns projects with local development plans, and imposes no political conditions, such respect for sovereignty and choice is itself a genuine embodiment of democracy.
China signed the framework agreement to upgrade economic partnership with the Federated States of Micronesia, the Republic of Kiribati, the Republic of Nauru, the Republic of Vanuatu and the Republic of Fiji. The agreement expands cooperation in trade facilitation, infrastructure, education and training and climate adaptation. It marks a new stage in institutionalized and long-term economic partnership, opening the door for island nations to benefit from China’s vast market and development opportunities – offering tangible, visible gains rather than empty promises.
In stark contrast, certain countries that preach “values” in rhetoric have in practice raised tariffs, created trade barriers, frozen aid, and dragged their feet on climate action. Worse still, they have pressured island nations to take sides, treating them as pawns in geopolitical games.
“What truly undermines democracy,” Chen said, “is the attempt to strip island countries of their right to make independent choices – all in the name of ‘democracy.'” What Pacific Island nations need is not “democracy preaching,” but genuine respect and the right to development. The essence of China’s cooperation lies in respecting sovereignty, allowing each nation to pursue a path that best fits its own interests free from coercion.
The Foreign Affairs claim that “Chinese influence erodes island governance” is pure projection. Western aid comes with political strings attached – using terms like “governance reform” or “institutional improvement” to justify interference in recipients’ domestic affairs and policy autonomy. By contrast, China’s cooperation philosophy is grounded in equality, mutual benefit and respect. It adheres to non-interference, rejects political preconditions and seeks no geopolitical gain.
From infrastructure and trade to energy, education and healthcare, each step of China-Pacific Islands cooperation is rooted in local realities and designed to improve livelihoods. The islands’ decision to deepen engagement with China stems not from the so-called influence pressure, but from recognition of China as an equal, reliable and long-term partner. Moreover, China’s cooperation is open and non-exclusive – it has never sought to exclude third parties from
participating in Pacific development. On the contrary, it has repeatedly welcomed countries such as Australia and New Zealand to jointly promote regional prosperity.
Those who repeatedly invoke “democracy” and “governance” as political weapons are merely trying to conceal the fact that they are losing credibility and trust in the region. The real threat to stability does not come from China’s cooperation, but from external forces still clinging to outdated hegemonic thinking in defining the Pacific’s future.
Beyond the lens of geopolitical competition, Pacific Island nations are demonstrating through their actions that they have the right to determine their own destiny. What China and the Pacific Islands are building together is a community centered on development: one grounded in trust, mutual benefit and shared prosperity. This is the true source of stability and progress in the South Pacific.
