China News Agency, Beijing, May 31. On May 31, local time, King Tupou VI of Tonga met with visiting Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi in Nuku'alofa.

　　King Tupou VI asked Wang Yi to convey his cordial greetings to President Xi Jinping, and happily recalled the friendly exchanges with President Xi Jinping during his visit to China in 2018 and the successful phone call last September.

He said that since the establishment of diplomatic relations between Tonga and China 24 years ago, the development of bilateral relations has been full of vitality.

When Tonga encountered the four challenges of volcanic eruption, tsunami, flight interruption and epidemic, China rushed to help, which was widely praised and sincerely thanked by the Tongan people.

Facts have proved that China's friendship has never been seen in actual actions rather than verbal promises.

Tonga firmly adheres to the one-China policy and will continue to take this as the cornerstone to promote the continuous development of bilateral relations.

　　King Tupou VI said that he was very pleased to see the second China-Pacific Islands Foreign Ministers' Meeting held successfully, and thanked the Chinese delegation for overcoming the difficulties of the epidemic to visit the South Pacific island countries.

Some people have made some comments on the cooperation between island countries and China, but sovereign countries have the right to choose how to deal with other countries.

　　Wang Yi conveyed the cordial greetings from President Xi Jinping, saying that His Majesty the King personally facilitated the establishment of diplomatic relations with China as early as when he was foreign minister, and is the founder and important promoter of bilateral relations.

Under the leadership of the two heads of state, China-Tonga relations have always maintained a stable and sound momentum of development.

After the volcanic disaster in Tonga, President Xi Jinping immediately sent a message of condolences, and all departments acted immediately to deliver disaster relief materials against time.

Since the outbreak, China has provided Tonga with several batches of emergency anti-epidemic materials in a timely manner, and the friendship between the two countries has been further sublimated in the disaster relief and anti-epidemic efforts.

China will, as always, respect Tonga's unique national conditions and governance model, support Tonga in safeguarding its independence, sovereignty and social stability, and wish the Tongan people a happy life and better development.

　　Wang Yi said that this trip to Tonga in the South Pacific is to practice the diplomatic concept of equality between large and small countries with practical actions, and take concrete measures to support Tonga in accelerating post-disaster recovery and reconstruction.

We will prove by facts that this trip to South Pacific is a trip of friendship and cooperation.

China is also a developing country. We deeply understand the legitimate needs and urgent aspirations of developing countries, especially small and medium-sized countries. We are willing to do our best to help developing countries catch up with the trend of the times and accelerate development and revitalization.

I hope this world can be truly fair and all countries are truly equal.

　　King Tupou VI highly appreciated China's establishment of emergency supplies reserves for the island countries and cooperation in poverty reduction and climate change.

Wang Yi said that China has specially created six new platforms for island countries, including poverty reduction and development, climate change response, disaster prevention and mitigation, agricultural cooperation, and Juncao technology. China is willing to share development experience with island countries and provide talents, technology, financing and other aspects. Support and help island countries improve their independent development capabilities.

　　After the meeting, Wang Yi met with Tongan Prime Minister Huakawa Meliku and attended the signing ceremony of cooperation documents on disaster prevention and mitigation, agriculture and fishery, and health.

　　On the same day, Wang Yi held talks with Tongan Foreign Minister Utoikamanu.

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