Ｓｏｕｔｈ Ｐａｃｉｆｉｃ Ｉｓｌａｎｄ Ｆｏｒｕｍ ｏｎ Ｔｒａｄｅ ａｎｄ Ｉｎｖｅｓｔｍｅｎｔ Ｈｅｌｄ ｉｎ Ｃｈｅｎｇｄｕ

The 8th Western China International Economic and Trade Fair (WCIETF) was held in Chengdu， Sichuan Province from May 24 to 28. During the fair， the South Pacific Island Forum on Trade and Investment jointly sponsored by the CPAFFC and the Sichuan Provincial People’s Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries was held successively in Chengdu and Yibing on May 26 and May 27. Invited by the CPAFFC， ambassadors or charge d’ affaires of Fiji， Papua New Guinea， Tonga and Vanuatu that had set up embassies in China and the representatives of the Trade Office of the Pacific Islands Forum attended the fair and theforum.

Contents of the WCIETF Enriched. The South Pacific Island Forum on Trade and Investment as a part of the contents of the WCIETF was the first ever held in the history of the WCIETF centring on the South Pacific island countries and drawing about 200 people from China’s western provinces， cities and areas. Leaders of relevant departments of Sichuan Province and ambassadors or charge d’ affairs of the four South Pacific island countries， gave briefings about their own departments and countries and sought opportunities of cooperation. Lo Chi Wai， ambassador of Vanuatu to China， said， South Pacific island countries boast rich natural and tourist resources and have preferential policies towards foreign investments. The people of these countries are friendly towards China and warmly welcome the Chinese people to make investment or travel in their countries. The Chinese participants at the forum spoke about many problems concerning tourism and investment. The forum enriched the contents of the WCIETF， which for the first time expanded its coverage to the vast South Pacific region and played a positive role in promoting the ties between China’s western region and the South Pacific island countries.

Mutual Understanding between South Pacific Island Countries and Sichuan Province Enhanced. Though the diplomatic envoys of the four South Pacific island countries who attended the forum had worked in China for several years， this was their first visit to Sichuan. Through the two meetings of the forum and visits to various places， they got an initial knowledge about Sichuan， while the business circles of Sichuan got a better understanding about South Pacific island countries， laying a foundation for future cooperation between the two sides. Emeline Tuita， ambassador of Tonga to China， said， the visit to Sichuan this time has left a deep impression on them. The local people are as warm， friendly， hard-working， sincere and honest as the people of South Pacific countries， laying a solid foundation for the cooperation between the people of South Pacific island countries and Sichuan. The distance between the two sides can’t stop the friendship between the peoples and their enthusiasm for cooperation. As long as the two sides make joint efforts on the basis of mutual benefit and aiming at win-win results， cooperation will surely succeed.