BEIJING (Reuters) - A&nbsp;Chinese&nbsp;communist&nbsp;party&nbsp;delegation&nbsp;has visited the&nbsp;Solomon&nbsp;Islands, calling the "flourishing" cooperation between China and the Pacific nation a show of how diplomatic ties were in their peoples' interest,&nbsp;Chinese&nbsp;state&nbsp;media&nbsp;said on Sunday.
The&nbsp;delegation&nbsp;led by the deputy head of the international department under China's Communist&nbsp;Party&nbsp;central committee, Guo Yezhou, met&nbsp;Solomon&nbsp;Islands' Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare during a visit spanning Friday to Sunday. The&nbsp;delegation&nbsp;also met the foreign minister and energy minister.
China had signed a policing pact with the&nbsp;Solomon&nbsp;Islands&nbsp;in July, as both countries upgraded their ties to a "comprehensive strategic partnership" when Sogavare met&nbsp;Chinese&nbsp;Premier Li Qiang in Beijing.
China's visit to the southern Pacific archipelago comes a week before Australia's Prime Minister Anthony Albanese is set to visit Beijing.
In June, Sogavare called for a review of its security treaty with Australia, which has historically provided policing support to the&nbsp;Solomon&nbsp;Islands.
The&nbsp;Solomon&nbsp;Islands' security pact with China had also alarmed the United&nbsp;States, which responded saying it was committed to a strong relationship with the region and strengthening longstanding bonds with the people of the&nbsp;Solomon&nbsp;Islands.
&nbsp;
(Reporting by Liz Lee; Additional reporting by Beijing newsroom)

you might like

Chinese party delegation visits Solomon Islands - Chinese state media