Reality of Pacific Trade Featured
Papuans gather at the roadside to welcome China's President Xi Jinping in Port Moresby during the APEC summit
28 November, 2018. PACER Plus concerns free trade between Australia and New Zealand and Pacific Island countries.
One of its principal aims is to boost growth and improve living standards throughout the Pacific, by providing new job opportunities for Islanders and for them to 'open up' their economies for further trade opportunities.
However, will this be beneficial in the long term for our Pacific Nation neighbours, or will it make their future more vulnerable and susceptible to Chinese influence?
Cleo Paskal argues that 'it is China, with its extensive government backing of business, which is the main winner'.
But if this is the case, will Australia and New Zealand be able to maintain their influence within the region, or is it already too late?
Cleo Paskal is an Associate Fellow in the Energy, Environment and Resources Department and Asia-Pacific Programme, Chattam House, Royal Institute of International Affairs.
-ABC
