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China’s FM pens agreements in East Timor on final Pacific stop

DILI, East Timor (AFP) – China’s foreign minister signed a series of agreements in East Timor on his final stop of a 10-day diplomatic blitz of the South Pacific on Friday, boosting ties between Beijing and Southeast Asia’s youngest country.

Wang Yi met with East Timor’s top diplomat Adaljiza Magno in the capital Dili for a signing ceremony where they penned agreements on agriculture, media partnerships and economic and technical cooperation.

The nations also signed a deal on the dispatch of a Chinese medical team to East Timor, according to a government programme seen by journalists.

“The bilateral relationship between Timor-Leste and China has been very good, especially in the economic sector,” Economic Minister Joaquim Amaral told reporters.

“The close relationship that Timor-Leste and China have built is very important,” he said, citing a potential role for Beijing in helping his country join regional bloc ASEAN.

East Timor, a former Portuguese colony that became independent in 2002, swore in its new president last month and he has set out to grow the country’s relationship with Beijing.

But Nobel laureate Jose Ramos-Horta appeared to balance his country’s position in his inauguration speech. He pledged to expand bilateral relations with Beijing while praising Washington for its role in developing East Timor’s infrastructure.

China has marked East Timor as a partner in its Belt and Road investment strategy, the flagship project of Chinese President Xi Jinping.

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi presents East Timor’s Prime Minister Taur Matan Ruak a souvenir during a meeting in Dili. PHOTO: AFP
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