By JASON SOM KAUT
CHINA’S total investment in Papua New Guinea last year reached a record K320 million, making it the second biggest during the period.
Statistics from the PNG Investment Promotion Authority (IPA) showed that China’s total investment in the country from 1993 to 2006 amounted to K910 million, or a yearly average of K70 million, and created more than 4,000 jobs.
PNG became the 112th country to create formal diplomatic relations with China on Oct 12, 1976, according to Chinese Ambassador to PNG Wei Ruixing who was in Lae last weekend for a three-day visit.
“Over the years China had done its best to support and assist PNG in its economic and social undertakings with the implementation of more than 20 projects,” Mr Wei said.
He recalled that Chinese president Hu Jintao and Prime Minister Sir Michael Somare both attended the APEC informal leadership meeting in Sydney last September.
It was here when the two leaders agreed that the China-PNG relationships “enjoyed a good momentum with fruitful results in mutually-beneficial co-operation in various fields and pledged to ‘work together to lift bilateral relations to a new high”, Mr Wei recalled.
China’s bilateral trade last year with PNG recorded US$520 million, an increase of 38% and represented about 45% of China’s total trade with Pacific Island Countries.
Mr Wei assured the Chinese government was committed to supporting PNG’s social and economic development.
Since the Chinese government carried out the policy of reforms and opening up to the outside world in the late 1970s, the past three decades witnessed rapid and steady economic development with a 9.5% of annual average GDP growth.
China was now ranked 4th in the world as far as economic size was concerned, with US$2.65 trillion of total gross domestic product (GDP) last year. GDP is the total market values of goods and services by produced by workers and capital within a country’s borders during a given period (usually one year)
China was third in foreign trade with US$1.76 trillion and first in foreign exchange reserves with a staggering US$1.06 trillion by the end of last year.
Mr Wei said there were “great potentials for further development of mutually beneficial co-operation in various fields between China and PNG”.
“It is my firm belief that with the concerted efforts by our governments and peoples, our bilateral relationship of mutually beneficial co-operation will enjoy even broader prospects,” the ambassador said.