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Tonga Gets Full Diplomatic Treatment Amid Pacific Tensions

Tonga’s King Tupou VI wrapped up a 6-day visit to China that saw him meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping, Premier Li Qiang, and Zhao Leji, the head of the National People’s Congress’s Standing Committee. The visit saw the signing ...

Wang Yi Holds Talks With Senior Political Leaders From Pacific Island Countries

A delegation of senior political leaders from Pacific Island countries wrapped up a week-long visit to Beijing on Friday with a meeting with Wang Yi, the Chinese Communist Party's most senior foreign policy official. Wang, who also serves as Foreign Minister, met ...

Pacific Bloc Backs Joint Police Plan, Maintains Taiwan Ties

Pacific leaders wrapped up a key summit in Tonga on Friday, endorsing a major joint policing initiative and rebuffing moves from China's regional allies to sideline long-term partner Taiwan. Leaders trickled back to the capital, Nuku'alofa, after an overnight island retreat, ...

Pacific Island Leaders Endorse Joint Policing Plan

Pacific Island leaders endorsed a landmark regional policing plan Wednesday at a summit in Tonga, a contentious move seen as trying to limit China's security role in the region. Leaders unveiled a plan to create up to four regional police training ...

Big Polluters Urged to Pay as Key Pacific Summit Opens in Tonga

By Steven Trask Emissions-belching nations were challenged to stump up for climate-related damage as a key Pacific islands summit opened on Monday, with low-lying Tuvalu declaring: "If you pollute, you should pay." The Pacific Islands ...

Analysis from Cobus van Staden

The G20 Summit and the Half-Life of a Joke

When it was announced in 2023 that the African Union would become a full member of the G20, I darkly joked on a podcast that the AU’s entry into the body could very well mark the moment the G20 lost its status as one of the most important global coordination forums. Mark my words, I said, soon The Economist will be like “Uhhh, the G20 is OVER – it’s the ...

Key Summit Opens at ‘Pivotal’ Time for Pacific Islands

The top summit for Pacific island nations opened Monday in the Kingdom of Tonga, drawing global attention to the region's climate plight and its role in an unfolding great power rivalry. Melodic Tongan choir singers and dancing school children in traditional ...