China has signed a memorandum of understanding for a “Blue Partnership” with the Pacific Island nation of Kiribati.
Kiribati Fisheries and Marine Resources Development Minister Ribanatak Siwo signed the agreement after meeting with Sun Shuxian, director of China’s State Oceanic Administration and vice minister of China’s Ministry of Natural Resources, during a visit to Beijing on 1 July. According to Chinese media coverage of the visit, Siwo said he welcomed Chinese technical support and capacity training in mapping and researching Kiribati’s marine areas and resources.
Kiribati has been the recipient of fisheries, infrastructure, and medical aid from China after the island switched diplomatic recognition from Taiwan to China in 2019. The island and other Pacific Island states, whose votes in international assemblies like the United Nations matter to Beijing, have been the recipients of Chinese largesse through the China International Development Cooperation Agency (CIDCA).
Aquaculture trainers were dispatched to Kiribati in 2021 from the Chinese province of Hubei – a key region for freshwater aquaculture production. Also in 2021, Kiribati’s then Fisheries Minister Ribanataake Tiwau was one of the speakers at the first China-Pacific Island Countries Forum on Fisheries Cooperation and Development. The theme of the forum was “Opening up a New Prospect for Fisheries Cooperation between China and Pacific Island Countries.”
China’s increased attention to Kiribati has alarmed the U.S., which in 2021 promised to open an embassy on the island, which lies 1,340 miles south of Honolulu, Hawaii, U.S.A. However, China's effort to strike a regional security and trade deal in the Pacific region was rejected by the Pacific Island Forum in 2022. In response, Kiribati pulled out of the Pacific Island Forum and moved to open the Phoenix Islands Protected Area to fishing, receiving USD 66 million (EUR 61 million) from China shortly thereafter.
Kiribati boasts one of the world’s largest exclusive economic zones at 3.5 million square kilometers and one of the world’s most productive tuna-fishing grounds.
Those grounds have been targeted by Chinese fishing firms, including Zhejiang Family Ocean, which in 2021 signed a cooperation agreement with Kiribati’s government valued at USD 100 million (EUR 91 million). Since then, the company appears to be deepening its economic ties to Kiribati. In April 2024, Ocean Family General Manager Shen Zhijun participated in a meeting at China’s state-run Yellow Sea Fisheries Research Institute that was chaired by Riibeta Abeta, Kiribati’s ambassador to China. At the meeting, a memorandum of understanding on fisheries cooperation was signed between China’s Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, which oversees the country’s fisheries, and its Kiribati counterpart concerning fishery resource assessments, sustainable aquaculture, high-value seafood processing, and fishing-related technology training.
Ocean Family also inked other deals, including one with the Yellow Sea Fisheries Research Institute and a marine aquaculture science and technology innovation strategic cooperation agreement with Kiribati Christmas Island Fisheries Co.
Ocean Family recently lost several prominent customers following reports of allegations of labor abuse and wildlife conservation breaches aboard its fleet. A report by the International Marine Mammal Project suggested it had caused the deaths of dolphins in the West and Central Pacific Ocean, while a separate report by the Environmental Justice Foundation suggested there were wildlife and labor abuses taking place on Ocean Family vessels in the same regions of the Pacific Ocean. As a result, Ocean Family lost its Dolphin Safe credential from the Earth Island Institute in March 2024, and both Taiwan-based FCF Co. and the Bolton Group ceased all purchasing from the company.
The deal between Ocean Family and Kiribati Christmas Island Fisheries may produce short-term gains, but reports suggest that Kiribati may need to diversify its revenue sources to ensure economic health. A 2022 report co-produced by the Stimson Center suggested Kiribati has become too reliant on revenue from foreign-flagged purse-seine tuna-fishing vessels and needs to open up to alternative revenue sources like tourism.
China’s government has shepherded several initiatives involving Chinese seafood companies in the Pacific Islands. During a 2023 visit to Zhoushan, Siwo signed a cooperation agreement with Zhoushan Yinghai Ocean Fisheries Co. In December 2023, Hainan Xiangtai Fishery Co. signed an agreement pledging to invest CNY 500 million (USD 70 million, EUR 65 million) to build and operate fishery seedlings, feed, breeding, processing, and export trade in Vanuatu. Also in 2023, Solomon Islands Fisheries Minister Nestor Ghiro signed a memorandum of understanding with the head of state-owned China National Fisheries Corp. (CNFC), which will “allow CNFC to invest in Solomon Islands in areas of mutual interest.”
