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China and the Solomon Islands on Monday agreed to officially establish a comprehensive strategic partnership featuring mutual respect and common development for a new era. Chinese President Xi Jinping and the Solomon Islands Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare announced this decision in a joint statement after their meeting in Beijing.

While the U.S. is straining every nerve to woo any country possible into its anti-China bloc, the Solomon Islands has chosen development over confrontation. "We want to remain neutral because it is not in the interest of our people and country to take sides and align ourselves with interests that are not our interests. Our national interest is development," Sogavare said. Having endured long-standing bullying by U.S.-led Western powers, the Solomon Islands, by upgrading ties with China, has demonstrated its determination of defending its national interests and getting rid of Western control.

Unlike some Western countries that take advantage of so-called "cooperation" with Pacific Island countries to advance selfish geopolitical agendas and gain unfair profits at the cost of the true benefits of local people, China, as President Xi pointed out on Monday, fully respects the sovereignty and independence of the Solomon Islands, and upholds the equality of all countries, big or small. While Washington's aids are, in most cases, driven by ideology and a Cold War mentality, China advocates mutual respect and equal relations in interactions with local countries.

Facts have proved that China-Solomon Islands cooperation serves the fundamental interests of the two peoples. For the Solomon Islands, the need for infrastructure outside the capital Honiara was urgent, Sogavare said earlier in a speech marking the 45th anniversary of independence from the UK. Infrastructure connectivity has repeatedly turned out to be vital in alleviating poverty and boosting the local economy.

Against this backdrop, China, known for its technological advantages in this field, has become the Solomon Islands' largest infrastructure partner. China has played an important role in constructing the stadium that will be used for the 2023 Pacific Games in the Solomon Islands, according to Reuters. The China-funded training track is the Pacific country's first international-standard modern track.

China's investment has not only upgraded the country's infrastructure but also boosted the local employment rate. The construction of the stadium employs as many as over 700 locals, according to Xinhua reports. Training courses from Chinese technicians have helped enhance local workers' skills and expertise and thus were warmly welcomed by the Solomon Islands. "China brings more jobs to us, and we Solomon Islanders are very happy," local worker Tony Tolo said in an interview with New China TV.

Speaking at the first high-level conference of the Forum on Global Action for Shared Development on Monday, Sogavare has also proposed using the Belt and Road Initiative to share development experience to transform countries' potentiality into prosperity.

Apart from infrastructure cooperation, China is also the biggest trading partner of the Solomon Islands. Trade between the two countries reached $500 million in 2022, a year-on-year increase of 3 percent, according to official data. China understands the real concerns of local countries. Just as Sogavare emphasized that we need to transcend the idea of using ideology and geopolitics to divide the world, the China-Solomon Islands cooperation is driven by the need to solve real problems, not the desire to win in the geopolitical competition.

This is why China, despite U.S. disruption, is increasingly welcomed in not just the Solomon Islands, but also countries across the world. A slew of high-level officials including Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez Pérez-Castejón, Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, Singapore's Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, and French President Emmanuel Macron have all paid visits to China this year.

This has proved that in spite of U.S. pressure, an increasing number of countries have chosen development over the need to win in major power games – a correct choice in conformity with the trend of the times.

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