China

Autagavaia Tipi Autagavaia, who is also a Radio New Zealand correspondent said, "This would be a good opportunity for New Zealand to show what New Zealand can do to beautify our town, especially on the waterfront.”

“This would be a good opportunity for China to show the tourists coming to Samoa this is what they can do to beautify our waterfront," said Autagavaia.

China’s investment includes a Friendship Park that is backed by the Guangdong provincial.

The park will have a sports field, outdoor performance space and arts and cultural centre.

Framework Agreements for the Construction of the China-Samoa Friendship Park and the Arts and Culture Centre were signed by Prime Minister Tuilaepa Sailele Malielegaoi and Ambassador, Wang Xuefeng were signed Friday.

Funding of these projects is from grant aid assistance provided by Huizhou city, Guangdong Province, China.

The main facilities for the park include an outdoor performance space, open sports field, tidal garden, café /dining area and a children's playground.

The park will provide a range of activities and facilities for the public.

In response to budget cuts, the ABC last year ceased shortwave broadcasting in the Asia-Pacific region ahead of a switch to FM transmission.

Australia-based technology observer Peter Marks told Radio ABC's Tech Headprogramme that since that withdrawal, the space was swiftly being filled.

"Since Radio Australia has dropped off shortwave, many of the exact frequencies we used to use have been now taken over by Chinese stations targetting the Asia Pacific region," he explained.

The Sydney Morning Herald reported his comments following remarks by Foreign Minister Julie Bishop that the Australian government was concerned some Chinese financing arrangements in the Pacific would undermine the islands' sovereignty.

She said Australia would aim to offer alternatives to Chinese infrastructure development.

Ambassador Cheng Jingye said the idea China wanted to create debt-traps for the Pacific nations was "ridiculous".

China's relationships with Pacific nations were on an equal footing which was mutually beneficial, he said.

The assessment was given to a visiting Samoan parliamentary delegation by China's special envoy to the Pacific Islands Forum, Du Qiwen.

Mr Du said while China's engagement provides important opportunities for development, there is a trade imbalance between Samoa and China which is being addressed.

He said, however, China is doing its part to reduce the South-North development gap by increasing assistance to developing countries.

Mr Du said to this end China's assistance programme was available to eight Pacific countries as concessional loans or grant funding.

Social media users in the country noticed video clips of the cartoon were being removed on Saturday, and on Monday, state newspaper Global Times said that the #PeppaPig hashtag had been removed from the Douyin video website, while searches for "Peppa Pig" on the site produced no results.

Many papers also note that the platform appears to have added "Peppa Pig" to its list of blacklisted content.

The Peppa Pig cartoon is hugely popular in China, but despite being targeted at a pre-school audience, it has found mass appeal with Chinese adults in recent months.

But Mr Trump said maximum sanctions and pressure on North Korea would continue ahead of proposed talks in May.

He added that denuclearisation of the Korean peninsula was now a possibility.

The comments follow Mr Kim's meeting with China's President Xi Jinping, in his first known foreign trip since taking office in 2011.

Mr Kim and his wife were greeted with a banquet and a guard of honour, with the North Korean leader reportedly saying he was committed to denuclearisation. China is North Korea's main economic ally.

On Monday, Ardern pledged the government would dedicate almost $10 million in aid and support for Samoa.

She told Morning Report that regardless of what other countries were doing, New Zealand should exercise its duties and responsibilities as partners and friends in the Pacific.

China has given a six-month warning about the 24 categories of solid waste it will no longer accept, including some plastics, paper and textiles.

Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme SPREP's Pollution Advisor Anthony Talouli said Samoa had no management system for plastic waste, but it would need one to avoid polluting the environment and marine life.

He said the large amount of plastic debris, particularly water drinking bottles found on roadsides, riversides and beaches in Samoa was shocking as those items could be re-used.

Australia's Development Minister Concetta Fierravanti-Wells has said China lends funds to countries in the Pacific on unfavourable terms and constructs "useless buildings" and "roads to nowhere" in the region.

Tuilaepa said such comments could damage Australia's relationships with countries in the region.

In an interview with the Samoan government's Savali newspaper the prime minister said China-funded buildings had provided modern facilities which raised work quality and productivity.