China-Pacific Island Countries Strategic Partnership: China’s Strategy to Reshape the Regional Order

China’s vigorous involvement in the Pacific Island countries (PICs) is often surmised by scholars of international relations (Wesley-Smith 1; Pryke 2) to be primarily motivated by geopolitical calculations. This paper argues that China’s increasing presence in the Pacific Islands indeed helps China create a “sphere of influence,” but such geopolitical dynamics are characterized not merely by China’s response to its perceived containment imposed by the USA and its allies in the region, but also by China’s willingness to engage with PICs on its own terms. This is reflected in China’s multifaceted approaches to offering economic assistance and expanding its economic and political presence in the region. China has increasingly cemented its strategic partnership with PICs by pursuing its traditional strategy of “non-interference” that satisfies PICs’ demands for political independence and self-determination. China reaps not only economic but also geopolitical benefits from its intensified economic, and by extension, political, and strategic partnership with PICs, thus assisting its rise at the systemic (global) level. This paper examines the rationale behind China’s economic and political approaches to the region and evaluates its promises and pitfalls as regional power dynamics continues to evolve.