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retail business focus to the domain of infrastructure and mining.”^102 The
rise of China as an investor in the region has been most noticeable in
Papua New Guinea, where it has been primarily prompted by the objective
of securing access to that country’s massive natural resources. For
instance, China’s Metallurgical Group Corporation has invested in the
Ramu Nickel Project in Madang, Papua New Guinea, the most sizeable
PRC investment in the region.^103 Chinese construction firms are
multiplying and performing well in the region, particularly in Papua New
Guinea and Fiji. In Papua New Guinea, Chinese companies have
constructed roads in the Central, Gulf, Morobe, and Madang provinces,
and erected the University of Goroka’s student dormitories.^104
Notably, Chinese companies often cooperate with other foreign
investors and multinational partners to complete projects in the Pacific
Islands.^105 “They also compete for and win World Bank and Asian
Development Bank tenders in the Pacific Islands, which demand levels of
transparency not previously associated with Chinese activities in the
region.”^106 This facet of China’s commercial engagement further
complicates the perception that Chinese actors in the region are inherently
different from Western actors.
China has also become the “new banker creating choice in the
region.”^107 In negotiations with Pacific countries, Australia traditionally
used to enjoy the almost exclusive status as the region’s chief bank.
Canberra’s “biggest bank in town” position “is now challenged as
increasingly substantial aid from Beijing makes money more readily
available from China, as well as Australia. For instance, in September
2012, Papua New Guinea obtained a $A2.8 billion loan from China to
improve the country’s infrastructure, in particular to upgrade the
Highlands Highway and airports. On a regional radius, China had
allocated more than $600 million since 2005 in ‘soft loans’, offering long
(^102) Hayward Jones, “Big enough for all of us, Geo-strategic competition in the
Pacific Islands”, 8.
(^103) Smith, “Spare a Nickel? On the tail of Chinese resource investment in the
Pacific.”
(^104) Smith, “Beyond the reach of the whip: Chinese Investment in Papua New
Guinea.”
(^105) Chand, “China Railway, TOTAL partners.”
(^106) Hayward Jones, “Big enough for all of us, Geo-strategic competition in the
Pacific Islands”, 8.
(^107) Greenacre, “Growing Chinese Aid to the South Pacific: New Political
Dynamics.”