Pacific island leaders in China amid intensifying regional competition

FILE - A Vanuatu flag flutters outside the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, May 27, 2019. The prime ministers of the Solomon Islands and Vanuatu are visiting China this week.

Jeremiah Manele and Charlot Salwai, the prime ministers of the Solomon Islands and Vanuatu, are in China this week. Their visits come as Beijing seeks to grow its bilateral ties with the two South Pacific nations and as China is increasingly competing for influence in the region with Australia, the United States and others.