China, US pledge funds for Pacific Islands ahead of key meet they won’t attend

A Chinese corporation has pledged A$1 billion ($651.40 million) to Nauru, the Pacific Islands nation with a population of 12,000 said on Tuesday, as major powers including the United States push for influence in the region.
The announcement comes ahead of a meeting of foreign ministers of the Pacific Islands Forum regional bloc on Thursday and the region’s top political meeting next month. The Solomon Islands, which hosts the annual leaders meeting and is China’s biggest ally in the region, made the surprise decision to block 21 donor countries, including China and the United States, from attending after pressure from Beijing to exclude Taiwan.
The U.S. expressed disappointment with the move but on Tuesday made its own $60 million pledge to the region under a 2022 treaty, as news of the Chinese agreement with Nauru was made public.