China Institute of Economic and Trade Cooperation Achieves Abundant Results

Since the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and the Solomon Islands in 2019, the relationship between the two countries has developed rapidly and achieved fruitful results. From July 9 to 15, Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare of Prime Minister of Solomon Islands paid an official visit to China. On the occasion of their visit to China, the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade of the Solomon Islands jointly held the China Solomon Islands High Level Enterprise Exchange Conference in Beijing on July 11th. Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare attended the event. Yu Jianlong, Vice President of CCPIT, and Jeremiah Manele, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade of Solomon Islands, delivered speeches at the event.
Yu Jianlong stated that since the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and the Solomon Islands, the political mutual trust between the two countries has been continuously strengthened, practical cooperation has been continuously expanded, and people-to-people friendship has been continuously strengthened, which has become a model of mutual respect, unity and cooperation among developing countries. The Solomon Islands is the second largest and third largest population country in the Pacific Islands, known as the Island of Happiness and a hopeful land. China and the Institute have strong economic complementarity, huge potential for bilateral economic and trade cooperation, and broad development prospects.
Jeremiah Manele said that China is the largest trading partner of Solomon Islands. Solomon Islands' trade with China had been in surplus until 2019, and its exports to China accounted for 64% -65% of the total exports. Meanwhile, China is also the largest source of imports for the Solomon Islands, with imports from China accounting for 26% of the total. After 2019, due to the global pandemic and the unsustainable development of the Solomon Islands' timber mining industry, Solomon Islands' exports to China have decreased. At present, Solomon Islands is carrying out policy adjustment, with fisheries, agriculture, tourism, mining, forestry, e-commerce, services and other industries as the focus. In the process of developing these industries, we hope to expand foreign trade and investment cooperation, and build more infrastructure, including roads, ports, airports, etc
Solomon Islands has implemented relevant policy measures, including tax reform, the construction of special economic zones, and the construction of a 'single window', in order to improve the business environment, enhance business convenience, and promote diversified economic development. At the same time, in order to enter the international market, Solomon Islands has also made a series of arrangements. Some products of Solomon Islands have now obtained duty-free access from some countries. In the Chinese market, Solomon Islands has a 98% tax rate The target product enjoys zero tariff treatment Jeremiah Manele said that since 2019, the two countries have signed 10 memorandums of understanding and 2 agreements. On July 10, we witnessed the signing of 7 memorandums of understanding. These memorandums of understanding cover all areas of cooperation between the two countries and are conducive to strengthening economic and trade relations between the two countries.
Yu Jianlong stated that on July 10th, the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade of the Solomon Islands signed a memorandum of understanding on cooperation in the presence of the two prime ministers. The high-level enterprise exchange conference between China and Solomon Islands held on July 11th is a practical measure to implement the cooperation documents between the two sides. In the future, the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade is willing to work with all sides to make greater contributions to strengthening friendly exchanges between the two countries and promoting practical cooperation between enterprises. He put forward four suggestions on leveraging the role of the business community to further deepen practical economic and trade cooperation between China and the Institute:
One is to strengthen the exchange and sharing of economic and trade information. Timely grasp of economic and trade information is crucial for development