[Source: Fiji Government / Facebook]

Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka says the Fiji-China relationship has been tested a few times, but it remains very strong.

Rabuka made this comment following a meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping.

The Prime Minister who recently visited China highlighted that during the trip he was particularly impressed by how people in the provinces he toured have come out of poverty.

He says when he visited some of these provinces some 30 years ago when he first became Prime Minister, it was a totally different story.

Rabuka says he was fortunate to be in China three decades ago and is thrilled with the progress China has made.

He adds that he observed that collaboration can address poverty.

“The best deal I have received is to see what can be done with very little when the people themselves, according to his book, Out of Poverty, give leaders worldwide the energy; instead of waiting to receive assistance from other people, we have the solution in the hands of the people, and that is how he manages to transform those villages into what they are now.”

Rabuka also hailed Beijing’s “tailor-made innovative poverty alleviation strategies.

Meanwhile, Premier Li Qiang has pledged at a meeting with Rabuka to boost imports from Fiji.