Ambassador Don Sawong took his post in China on September 30. The position is also his first assignment as an ambassador of Papua New Guinea (PNG).  

Papua New Guinea was one of the earliest Pacific Island countries to have forged diplomatic ties with China back in 1976. It's currently China's largest trading partner in the region. Ambassador Sawong said current relations are strong.  

"Over the years, with the exchange between political leaders, senior government officials, in 2018 when President Xi Jinping in my country, our relationship is becoming a comprehensive strategic partnership, which means it's a different level of relationship," the ambassador said.  

He said trade balance between Papua New Guinea and China favors Papua New Guinea. "But that's because China's been kind enough to buy a lot of gas from us. But we want to encourage more Chinese investment. We're a country that has a lot of resources, not only oil, gas, forestry, tourism, agriculture, processing, food production, we have a lot of opportunities," he said. 

While the two countries have made progress, the ambassador thinks there is room to improve when it comes to people-to-people relations. "We don't see many Chinese tourists going to Papua New Guinea. I would like to encourage people-to-people in that sense, tourists visiting my country. When we have the air service agreement implemented, hopefully, my countrymen will also visit China, and see for themselves, as visitors, as businessmen, see the opportunities for us," he said. 

Currently, people coming from PNG to China have to take flights to Hong Kong first, but the situations is expected to change soon. "We've already signed the air service agreement between our countries. Once the Shanghai airport facility is open, we'll have two departure points between China and PNG, one from Hong Kong, one from Shanghai," Sawang introduced. 

Ambassador Sawong left an open invitation for Chinese tourists and investors to visit the Pacific island.

Ambassador Sawong says he himself has adapted to life in China quickly. His office displays products from PNG. There's one product he thinks may be of particular interest to Chinese consumers. "This is a biscuit, manufactured in my country. The guy who set it up, his father says he was from Guangdong Province. They migrated to PNG 200 years ago. He son and grandson are manufacturing this. It's produced in my home province," he said.   

Looking at his four-year assignment ahead, Sawong says he hopes to see the agreements signed between the two countries all implemented, and more students from Papua New Guinea coming to study in China.