The Pacific island nation of Papua New Guinea (PNG) boasts some of the highest crime, worst health metrics and foulest corruption on the planet. But its low-rise capital, Port Morseby, is also welcoming luxury cars and cruise liners this week as some world’s most powerful men and women arrive for the annual Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit.
The meeting is arguably the biggest thing to happen to the former Australian colony since independence in 1975, and spotlights the growing importance of South Pacific nations in the strategic tussle between China on the one hand and Washington’s regional allies, like Australia and Japan, on the other.
China has pledged some $5.9 billion on more than 200 projects in the region since 2011, according to Australian think tank the Lowy Institute, and the fact that President Xi Jinping is attending the summit, when both the leaders of the U.S. and Russia opted to stay way, demonstrates the region’s significance to Beijing’s thinking.
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