The future of the world lies with China and the Asia Pacific.
So says Prime Minister Tuilaepa Sa’ilele Malielegaoi, who then acknowledged the importance of the Pacific Ocean and its link to Pacific Island communities.
“The Pacific Ocean contains the largest amount of fish and it’s not contaminated hence the reason the USA is prioritising the Pacific Islands."
“That is the same for the Government of China. Its population is a billion and 400 million, also their products are very cheap and top quality and they continue to grow economically, hence why the future of the world lies with China and the Asia Pacific,” he said.
Tuilaepa said this is evident with the continuing battle over tariffs imposed on goods by economic super powers America and China.
“The USA has increased their taxes as efforts to minimise the import of China-made goods because it’s relatively cheaper than the American products.”
Tuilaepa said the “windows” that allow for economic growth is trade.
“We need trade and tourism. You see all the nonu juice sent overseas it’s for China, as well as our fish, and we need markets,” he added.
He also criticized America for closing its door on Chinese exporters, describing it as a wrong move.
“The end result is that America’s economy will decrease while China continues to grow. One of the main options for economic growth is trade and to open doors for employment opportunities, similar to the work scheme we have with Australia and New Zealand. Without us, they wouldn’t have workers to collect fruits,” he added.