Pacific to make trade push at Beijing Olympics
Updated
The new Pacific Islands Trade Commissioner in Beijing , Samo Savou, says that despite the distance between the Pacific and China. Trade is growing and will continue to grow. Mr Savou, who has a MBA from the University of the South Pacific and a backgound working in technology-based multinational companies, took up his appointment as Trade Commissioner in Beijing, a week ago.
Presenter: Jemima Garrett
Speaker: Pacific Islands Trade Commissioner in Beijing, Samo Savou
SAVOU: The Australian National Olympic Committee for the Pacific or the ANOC as it's commonly referred to is trying to use the Olympic Games atmosphere to facilitate trade as well.
I believe they did the same thing during the Sydney Olympics and they're trying to replicate the same outcome here in Beijing, because they see it as a huge opportunity, the whole world will be here and it's an ideal opportunity for Pacific Islands to try and interact with China and also with the rest of the world.
GARRETT: Which Pacific Island countries will be participating in this trade push?
SAVOU: I think the trade push is being made available to all the Pacific Islands.
Not all of Pacific Islands are represented in China, and for those islands that are small and do not have a presence here I think they will feel be given the opportunity to participate in the trade export if you'd like to call it that, and I think it's being given to them in the sense that they can send up delegates or a delegation from the islands to come and host the events at the particular time that's given to them.
GARRETT: You'll have an Oceania house in Beijing and that'll provide an opportunity to host Chinese companies. How do you expect all that to work?
SAVOU: I think the Olympics is such being heavily sponsored, some of the Chinese companies that would like to be part of the Olympic Games aren't able to be because of the sponsorship packages that have been offered.
And I think all of them would like to be part of the games and I think this is an ideal opportunity where the businesses or each individual country would like to do business with the respective Chinese companies can offer an invitation for them to be part of the games in some sort of way, and come to this event.
So in a way it's almost like a, when you look at the invitation as a magnet for them to come in, and I think from what we hear from the Chinese have come to be part of the discussions is that it will be highly sought after.
GARRETT: What Pacific Island products or services do you see as having the most potential in the Chinese market at the moment?
SAVOU: I think at the moment there's a lot of push for timber and for some of the raw materials out of Papua New Guinea, but there's also Pacific Island products that are certainly in abundance like seafood and seaweed, but there's also other agricultural products like noni that's being looked at.
But there's also pearls amongst other things.
GARRETT: China is becoming more significant as an investor in the Pacific. What sectors are of most interest to Chinese companies?
SAVOU: I think at the moment the Chinese government has made available preferential loans to respective countries across the Pacific, and at the moment these loans are being used for infrastructure development.
For example in Fiji there's work that has been done on the water supply and the Chinese loans are going into that. The same thing in Tonga and in Samoa to build infrastructure.
And I think what we're also trying to look at is preferential loans that would be available to Chinese companies to invest in the Pacific as well. So that's something that we're looking at to see if that resource is available.
GARRETT: You're very new in the job there as Pacific Island Trade Commissioner.
What do you hope to achieve in the three years that you'll be there?
SAVOU: I think in my view because of economic survival most companies are coming to trade with China, for example out of Fiji there are several traders that currently have used China now as there sourcing market.
So I think on the trade side whether we'll be part of it or not it will happen.
So I think our main focus would be on investment of Chinese companies into the Pacific, and export of Pacific product into China.
I think if I had to categorise it I think that would be our primary focus.
