Papua New Guinea welcomes prosperity-building Chinese investment: prime minister

Papua New Guinea (PNG) is actively seeking closer economic ties with China and aims to attract greater Chinese investment to strengthen bilateral business cooperation.

Led by Prime Minister James Marape, a high-level Papua New Guinean delegation visited the southern Chinese cities of Guangzhou and Shenzhen this week to explore new opportunities for collaboration.

On Wednesday, some 300 representatives from government and the private sector from both countries attended a business roundtable in Guangzhou to discuss new investment opportunities.

The event welcomed more than 250 representatives from Chinese and PNG companies in the fields of agriculture, energy, infrastructure, telecommunications, and tourism, inviting them to hold business matchmaking meetings.

Attending the gathering, Marape pointed to the expanding areas of mutual benefit the two countries enjoy.

“Something that I consider of high value is localizing Chinese businesses in the downstream processing aspect of our agriculture produces, our other natural resources in country, utilizing special economic zone incentives we’re giving them. The prosperity of my people has grown, but more importantly, (so will) return on investment to the Chinese enterprises who will come into PNG,” said the prime minister.

Marape highlighted China as PNG’s largest trading partner, with bilateral trade worth more than 8 billion U.S. dollars a year.

Chinese firms in infrastructure, energy, telecoms and mining sectors are also looking to expand their presence in the Pacific island country.

“Agriculture and mining are Papua New Guinea’s pillar industries, which aligns with our business in weighing instruments. We see strong growth potential there in a globalized economy,” said Zhou Xin, general manager of Dalian Jinma Weighing Apparatus.

“Stable investment policies make us more confident about the Pacific market. We see opportunities to expand investment in new energy, from upstream materials to downstream computing,” said Li Biao, representative of GCL Group, a company focused on green energy.

The delegation also traveled to Shenzhen, touring Chinese electric vehicle manufacturer BYD, and exploring its advanced battery and EV technologies.

At Shenzhen Energy Group, PNG officials were introduced to intelligent power grid technologies that could help Papua New Guinea better harness its natural resources.

Papua New Guinean officials said reforms are underway in the country to cut red tape, reduce business costs and better attract foreign investment.

“You are able to register your entity, you can do it at a click of a button, you can do it from your country, you can make payments online. We are doing our best to use ICT to streamline our processes with other regulatory agencies,” said Daroa Peter, director of the Investor Servicing and Promotion Division of PNG Investment Promotion Authority.

A group of Japanese peace activists gathered outside the Prime Minister’s Office in Tokyo on Friday to protest the government’s push for constitutional revision and the lifting of a ban on lethal weapons exports.

The Japanese government officially revised the “Three Principles on Transfer of Defense Equipment and Technology” and related implementation guidelines on April 21, allowing overseas sales of weapons, including those with lethal capabilities.

Kyodo News, a Japanese news agency, said the changes mark a significant shift in the country’s defense policy, noting that it has long touted itself as a “peace-loving nation” under its war-renouncing Constitution since its defeat in World War II.

The protesters accused the Takaichi administration of lifting the export ban without sufficient debate or deliberation in the National Diet.

“Without full discussions in the National Diet, the government just arbitrarily decided on arms exports and made various excuses for it. Also, regarding the incident of intrusion into the Chinese embassy, the government has not issued an apology. Japan should be on friendly terms with neighboring countries, yet it engages in actions that incite confrontation. [Constitutional revision] is truly disturbing. Especially nowadays, the Liberal Democratic Party and Prime Minister Takaichi are pushing for arms exports in order to build a nation capable of waging war. This is absolutely unacceptable,” one female protester said.

“As a matter of fact, it [lifting the ban on lethal weapons exports] was arbitrarily decided by the cabinet without any consideration of people’s opinions. Revising the pacifist constitution will undoubtedly harm Japan’s national interests. I sincerely hope that the Takaichi administration will stop this practice,” a male protester said.

“Article 9 of Japan’s constitution has gradually, to some extent, been distorted by various faits accomplis. While Japan is nominally a ‘peaceful country,’ this is not the case in reality,” another female protester said.