SYDNEY, July 5 (Xinhua) -- China is one of Papua New Guinea's most important trading partners, the pacific nation's prime minister said in a statement on Tuesday as he embarked with a business delegation to Beijing to increase bilateral ties.
Papua New Guinea's (PNG's) Prime Minister Peter O'Neill will arrive in Beijing on Wednesday at the invitation of Premier Li Keqiang in a bid to strengthen its stagnant economy and bring the two nations closer together.
"China is one of our nation's most important trading partners and it is through this engagement we will increase (inbound) investment and generate employment," O'Neill said in a statement on Tuesday.
"We look forward to the bilateral discussions that will take place."
China is already a large customer of PNG's natural resources, but O'Neill is looking to expand the relationship to include more agriculture and fisheries products while harnessing China's new technologies to increase productive efficiency.
These include farming and food processing technologies that would enhance production capacity at farms and processors, as well as communication technologies that can be utilised for major events, including the APEC leaders summit hosted by PNG in 2018.
"Chinese companies produce a great deal of sophisticated technological products that we can use in PNG to great effect,"O'Neill said.
O'Neill and his delegation will also visit Eco Forum Global in Guiyang to look at opportunities to advance effective measures to reduce carbon emissions and mitigate the effects of climate change for the Pacific region.
China established formal diplomatic relations with PNG in 1976, soon after the Pacific heavyweight had gained independence from Australia.
