"Kiribati is about to die, and I hope China can help. ”
In 2010, when Kiribati's Chinese-American president urgently asked China for help, China, which had always spared no effort to help him, turned a blind eye to the crisis.
What's going on here?
In the 80s of the 20th century, China and Kyrgyzstan established diplomatic relations, Kiribati had a backward economy, the people's living standards were low, the country belonged to the Commonwealth before the founding of the country, due to the backward economy, the cultural level of the people in the country was very low, and the United Kingdom, the United States, Australia and other countries that should have funded it were not dedicated to this.
Fortunately, China has always taken the "common people" as its own responsibility, and in 1985 it provided investment assistance to Kiribati, and China and Kyribati carried out all-round cooperation in various fields.
In 1996, in order to reflect the in-depth cooperation and mutual trust between China and Kyrgyzstan, China established the "China Aviation Kiribati Tracking and Control Station", which increased the in-depth exploration and cooperation between the two countries in the field of aviation.
Over the past seven years, China has invested more than $3 billion in Kiribati.
During this period, China has been stepping up its assistance to Kiribati, further increasing investment, and strengthening economic and trade exchanges in various fields, with a total aid of more than $1.25 billion, making the diseases and poverty of the past disappear and helping the people of Kiribati embark on the road to prosperity and strength.
China's assistance to Kiribati covers transportation, education, industry, agriculture, health care and other fields, and has invested 30% in infrastructure and transportation, 20% in education, and 15% in industry.
A series of aid projects have improved the quality of education and agricultural production in Kiribati, and promoted industrial development, and the aid to Kiribati has also demonstrated the deep friendship between China and Kiribati.
China played a huge role in Kiribati's economic development, but the dream came to an end in 2003.
In July 2003, Anote Tong, a Chinese-American candidate, was inaugurated as the fifth president in Kiribati's history.
Under the pretext that the "Kiribati Measurement and Control Station of China Aviation" is harmful to Kiribati's national defense and security, he spread rumors that China wants to take the opportunity to peep at US military secrets, and tailors a wonderful pro-US "inauguration gift" for himself.
The reason why Tang Anuo is like this as a Chinese is related to the rotten genes in his bones, and his father was the first big traitor in Guangdong Province during the Anti-Japanese War.
Under his father's packaging, Tang Anuo categorically chose to sever diplomatic relations with the mainland as early as after taking office.
Kiribati has been in a state of Western colonization for a long time in the past, and even after the founding of the People's Republic of China and independence, Kiribati still maintains a good impression of the West, because Kiribati, as a long-term colonized maritime island country, is very different from China in terms of culture, so that the people of the country have little understanding of Chinese culture, and Tang Anuo's rumors have made Kiribati maintain a pro-American and anti-China attitude throughout the country.
Finally, in 2003, the friendly relations between China and Kyrgyzstan broke down. Can Anote, who caters to the United States and Australia, really make Kiribati richer and stronger under the protection of the United States and Australia?
After choosing to sever diplomatic relations with China, Anote Tong launched the "Kid-Australia South Pacific Cooperation Contract" and the "Kid-US Strategic Contract" in the hope that he could be a dogleg for the United States, Australia and other countries, but the United States and Australia and other countries were not interested in this.
In 2014, the journal Nature published an article that low-altitude countries such as Kiribati would be at risk of extinction in the future as sea levels rose.
In the absence of interests, the United States, Australia and other countries only pay attention to the stability of the Asia-Pacific situation and implement the strategy of "rebalancing to the Asia-Pacific", and have no intention of caring about Kiribati's life or death.
At the time of life and death, Tang Anuo actually came to China with a shy old face to ask for help. Before China could reply, Tong fell in a state of rejection, leaving a mess of mud for his successor, Taneshi Mamao.
During the succession of Tanesi Mamao as President of Kiribati, diplomatic relations between China and Kiribati were re-established and cooperation with China was actively strengthened.
At the same time, in order to break through the geographical limitations of the "island chain", China has also actively provided a large amount of assistance to Kiribati, with the help of these maritime island countries, jumping to the "island chain" to achieve internal and external linkage, and crossing the "island chain" in both directions instead of one-way.
Using the Pacific island countries as a "pivot" to project national power into the Pacific Ocean and completely break the geopolitical restrictions of the "island chain" also enables China to strengthen ties with Latin American and other countries and leverage the leverage of the Sino-US geopolitical game.
With Kiribati, China can also better place its own strength in the backyard of the United States, achieve strategic containment, and no longer be controlled by others in future geopolitical games and negotiations, and have more initiative and decision-making power.