China-Australia rivalry surrounds Apec summit in Papua New Guinea
- Beijing’s growing presence worries Canberra, PNG’s largest foreign donor, with Xi Jinping poised for state visit before the Pacific country hosts Apec
- Tussles for influence in spheres including energy, telecoms and roads
Next to the billboard reading “Welcome to Papua New Guinea” outside the arrivals hall of Jacksons International Airport in Port Moresby stood an advertisement for China Construction Bank.
The sign of the state-owned Chinese bank stood alongside those of other major funders of Beijing’s signature international infrastructure strategy, the “Belt and Road Initiative”: China Railway Group, China Railway Construction and China National Building Material.
The vivid presence of Chinese investment in the Pacific country – a former colony of Australia, its closest neighbour – has prompted an alarmed response in Canberra as its battle for influence with Beijing has gained steam in the past year.
“What we can do is offer alternative options for countries beyond belt and road – that is not the only source of infrastructure financing available,” Australia’s Foreign Minister Julie Bishop said in June, calling China’s US$900 billion initiative a vehicle for China to push its strategic interests.
Concern in the Australian capital was further amplified when Xi Jinping scheduled his maiden state visit to Papua New Guinea as Chinese president this Thursday and Friday to meet his counterpart Peter O’Neill.
Scheduled ahead of the weekend’s Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (Apec) summit in Port Moresby, the visit is expected to finalise and extend Chinese investment deals.
The annual regional economic summit in Papua New Guinea’s capital will gather heads of state in the poorest member country among Apec’s 21 nations. Both China and Australia accelerated aid to help the host country prepare after the location was selected in 2014.