Foreign Minister Rick Houenipwela begins official China visit to strengthen trade, investment and bilateral cooperation
Minister of Foreign Affairs and External Trade, Rick Houenipwela commenced his inaugural Official Visit to China on Friday 10 July 2026.
The first stop of the visit was in Jiangsu Province, a sister-province of Malaita Province. In Jiangsu, the Foreign Minister met with the Vice Governor Mr. Zhao Yan and Foreign Affairs officials of Jiangsu and exchanged dialogue on enhancing cooperation on agriculture, education, technology and skills development.
Foreign Minister also met with representatives of the Jiangsu Fenghai New Energy Seawater Desalination Development Co. Ltd (FHNED) and discussed the potential to explore cooperation on renewable energy-powered seawater desalination projects in Solomon Islands.
The visit will continue in Beijing, where Minister Houenipwela will meet his counterpart – H.E Wang Yi, and the Chinese Minister of Commerce H.E Wang Wentao, to discuss the bilateral relations and future cooperation between Solomon Islands and China.
China continues to remain an important cooperation partner of Solomon Islands. Advancing dialogue and cooperation in an open and practical spirit serves the common interests of both countries and its people.
The visit shows that amid complex global economic and political environment, Solomon Islands still attaches great importance to maintaining and strengthening economic and development cooperation with China, the largest trading partner of Solomon Islands.
—MFAET PRESS RELEASE
