Chinese Influence in South Pacific-BBC Article

China's new South Pacific influence

By Nick Squires BBC, South Pacific

As China extends its economic and political potential in the world, nowhere is too remote or too small to merit Beijing's interest, not even the tiny nations which slumber in the South Pacific.
click here for the rest of the story

The Chinese attempting to buy favor with Pacific nations is not a new story. There have been links to other articles and discussions about it over the years.

What I found interesting, and wonder if it is true, is his suggestion that the Chinese business people on the islands are recent immigrants. I always assumed that they had been there for generations. Are there NEW Chinese restaurants springing up everywhere as he suggests? Are there Chinese immigrating to certain countries?

LOL: "Gallic pretensions to world power status ensure it retains three colonies"

What I found interesting, and wonder if it is true, is his suggestion that the Chinese business people on the islands are recent immigrants. I always assumed that they had been there for generations. Are there NEW Chinese restaurants springing up everywhere as he suggests? Are there Chinese immigrating to certain countries?

It is certainly not true for Samoa. There are less Chinese restaurants here than 10 years ago, not more Chinese storekepers and certainly not more Chinese people as well. And even though there are intense and well established diplomatic relations between China and Samoa since 1975 already, the only travelers to Samoa, who have to obtain a visa before arrival are the citizens of the People's Republic of China. Everybody gets 30 or 60 days stay granted upon arrival - only Chinese do not.

Overall I regard that article simply as whining about the days of the Empire being over. Still more painful as the French still have some property there (no influence though ...), lol.

On Vava'u I found that the Chinese shopkeepers-recent arrivals-were quite popular with native Tongans but not so much with Palangis.

The prices in Chinese stores are excellent and have forced other places to lower their margins-Tongans were also hurt/angry when they realised long time shops had been overcharging for years and years.

During a community meeting on Vava'u a woman of my acquaintance invited some complaining merchants to 'go back to where you come from we like our Chinese neighbours'' again because of smart shopkeeping on the part of the Chinese.

The Chinese are wise to send their kids to local schools-one will go to the Catholic school another somewhere else-not that they are particularly religious but it does help them intyegrate with the community.

The April riot in 2006 in Solomon Islands was directed at newly arrived Chinese, not the citizens that have been there for generations. The "old" Chinese were actually protected by their indigenous local friends.
These new Chinese have very little respect for the locals. (eg the dress of some of the young Asian women, and the way shopkeepers speak to the locals). Many arrived through bribes paid to corrupt officials during the tension years (1998 to 2001).
They seem to be there only to earn enough money to pay for migration to Australia.
And many of them are encroaching into industries supposed to be reserved for locals, like taxi ownership and hot food stalls, even selling betel nut in their trade stores in areas where locals are banned form setting up stalls.
Recently there has been an investigation into an Asian prostitution racket, and this was happening when I was living there is 2004 as well.

The author of this article has much more research to do and facts to substantiate.

From what I know of the present Chinese in Samoa is that they have been there a long time. I have Samoan-Chinese friends and this question came up one day at their fabulous home overlooking Apia.

Their answers to some of my questions regarding the "Chinese Invasion" of the South Pacific were this:

They are securing potential vacation spots for the millions and millions of Chinese that will soon be in the middle class and will be travelling the world. The quest for resources is secondary. (mining the sea floor is decades, if not centuries and trillions of dollars away...) As it stands now, there aren't enough beaches in the highly developed tourism areas of the world, so the beaches of lesser known (however, not less lovely) places of the planet (ie the south pacific) are being "secured".
The invasion is coming, all right... by the millions... Samoa, Tonga, Fiji, the Solomons...

They're coming and so brush up on yer Mandarin...

In terms of the invasion of the Chinese in Samoa, I must agree with wkssamoa... They have already been here generations, have integrated and interbred with the locals and are as Samoan as the endemic population. I have personally not seen any evidence of "new" Sino-money/investment in Samoa.... Yet.

"Sometimes being a friend to an ant is more powerful than being an enemy of a lion" -Old Swahili proverb.

"They are securing potential vacation spots for the millions and millions of Chinese that will soon be in the middle class and will be travelling the world. The quest for resources is secondary"

For anyone stupid enough to believe the post as quoted I have some prime tropical beachfront available cheap in Biggar, Saskatchewan

Well, the Chinese are definitely trying to exert influence in the Cooks with massive aid projects. I think they are eying the fish in the Cooks waters.