On September 21, State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi held talks with Solomon Islands Foreign Minister Manele in Beijing, Xinhua reported. After the talks, the foreign ministers of the two countries signed the Joint Communiqué of the People's Republic of China and the Solomon Islands on the Establishment of Diplomatic Relations. Since the date of signing of the communiqué, the two countries have recognized each other and established diplomatic relations at the ambassadorial level.
On September 16, the ruling caucus meeting of the Solomon Islands voted by 27 votes in favor, 0 votes against and 6 abstentions to pass the final decision to "sever diplomatic relations" with Taiwan and establish diplomatic relations with China. On the same day, the Government convened a cabinet meeting to adopt the decision.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said at a regular press conference on September 17 that "China highly appreciates the solomon islands government's decision to recognize the one-China principle, sever so-called 'diplomatic relations' with the Taiwan authorities and establish diplomatic relations with China." We support this important decision taken autonomously by solomon Islands as a sovereign and independent State. ”
The Solomon Islands are located in the southwestern Pacific Ocean, belonging to the Melanesian Islands, with their capital in Honiara. The country's land area is 28,400 square kilometers, and the exclusive marine economic zone covers an area of 1.6 million square kilometers. The population is about 600,000, 94.5% of whom are Melanesians, mostly Protestant and Catholic. The official language is English, the lingua franca of Pigin.
The country is 1600 km southwest of Australia, 485 km west of Papua New Guinea and southeast of Vanuatu. There are more than 900 large and small islands in the whole territory, and the largest island in Guadalcanal covers an area of 6475 square kilometers. There are many volcanoes and rivers in the territory. It has a tropical rainforest climate with hot seasons all year round and no dry season. The average annual temperature in the capital Honiara is 28 °C, and the average annual precipitation is 3000-3500 mm.
According to the website of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Solomon Islands were inhabited more than 3,000 years ago. It was discovered and named by the Spaniards in 1568. Later, Dutch, British, German and other colonists came one after another. In 1885 North Solomon became a German protectorate and in the same year it was transferred to Britain. In 1893, the British Solomon Islands Protectorate was established. It was occupied by Japan during World War II. It was renamed Solomon Islands in June 1975. Internal autonomy was introduced on 2 January 1976. Independence on 7 July 1978. He is a member of the Commonwealth.
The head of state of the country is Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom, who appoints the Governor-General as her representative. The current Governor-General, David Vunagi, took office on 7 July 2019 for a five-year term. Born in September 1950, Wu Naji graduated from the University of the South Pacific in Fiji, the University of Papua New Guinea, And St. John's College in New Zealand, etc., with multiple degrees in education and theology. Served as a clergy and clergy member in the Solomon Islands. From 2009 to 2015, he was Archbishop of Melanesia and Bishop of the Central Diocese of Melanesia.
The country's parliament, known as the National Assembly, is the highest organ of power and consists of 50 members for a four-year term. The current Speaker, Patteson Oti, was elected in May 2019 as the 11th Speaker of the House. Menasi Sogavare is the country's current Prime Minister.
Since independence, solomon islands have gradually transformed their economy from a single economy to a diversified economy that includes agriculture, fishing, mining, forestry, tourism, etc. Beef, grain and vegetables are basically self-sufficient.
Affected by the Asian financial crisis, the economy has been in trouble since the second half of 1997, with exports decreasing, currency depreciation and serious fiscal deficits. From 2003 to 2008, the economic development improved, with an average annual economic growth rate of nearly 6%, and it was once one of the countries with the highest economic growth rate in the Pacific island countries.
Affected by the international financial crisis, the economic growth rate fell to -2.2% in 2009. In recent years, the government has taken a number of development measures to promote land reform, improve management methods, actively attract foreign investment, effectively control inflation, and the economy has shown a momentum of recovery, but it is still greatly affected by the international economic environment.
In 2018, the country's gross domestic product (GDP) was $1.4 billion, gdp per capita was $2,270, and the economy grew at a rate of 3.4 percent. Its currency, the Solomon Islands dollar, is trading at around 8.200 dollars per DOLLAR (July 2019). Solomon Islands is heavily dependent on foreign aid for its finances. In 2017, foreign exchange reserves were $574 million. As of November 2017, the total public debt was $112 million.
In terms of mineral resources, solomon islands have proven bauxite reserves of 58 million tons and phosphate 10 million tons. Water conservancy resources are abundant. Forest cover covers 90% of the land area, about 2.63 million hectares. The total forest stock is 127 million cubic meters, and the commercial timber storage volume is 48.1 million cubic meters. In recent years, forestry has developed rapidly and has become a major economic pillar and export industry. But over-logging puts it at risk that forestry resources could dry up within decades.
The country's industry accounts for only 5% of GDP. The agricultural population accounts for more than 90% of the country's population, agricultural income accounts for 60% of GDP, and the main crops are copra, palm oil, cocoa and so on. In terms of fisheries, it is one of the countries with the richest fishery resources in the world, with an annual catch of about 80,000 tons of tuna. Seafood is the third largest export product, mainly exported to Japan. The coastal area is regarded as one of the best diving areas in the world, but the infrastructure is backward, the transportation is inconvenient, and the social security is poor, which seriously restricts the development of tourism.
In the country's foreign trade, it mainly exports timber, copra, fish, palm oil and cocoa, and imports transportation tools, machinery, food, fuel, chemicals and so on. The main trading partners are China, Australia, Singapore, India, the United Kingdom, etc.
In 2018, the trade volume of China was US$750 million, an increase of 15% year-on-year, of which China's exports were US$120 million, an increase of 28% year-on-year, and imports were US$630 million, an increase of 13% year-on-year.
In the area of foreign aid, the country sought multilateral assistance, stressing that the right to use foreign aid must be determined by the authority. Currently, Australia is its largest donor, with other major donors being the European Union, Japan, New Zealand, the United Kingdom and the Asian Development Bank.