Since Vanuatu gained its determination to pursue development, Chinese assistance to the Pacific country has been crucial in kick-starting its infrastructure building as well as helping carry it through dire times, said Vanuatu's Prime Minister Charlot Salwai.

In 2020, Vanuatu lifted itself from the list of the world's least-developed countries. As Salwai recounted in a recent interview with China Media Group, the journey was arduous but life-changing for some 320,000 people on the islands.