Statement comes after warning from Clinton

Beijing - Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi said on Thursday that the further development of friendly cooperation between China and Pacific island countries is the common will of the two sides.

The statement came after United States Secretary of State Hilary Clinton tried to persuade Congress not to cut the US diplomatic budget, warning of losing "a competition for influence with China".

The minister said in a statement faxed to China Daily that China and countries in the Pacific region have a deep traditional friendship and extensive common interests.

"Relations between China and the island countries have been developing well in recent years," the statement said, adding that China insists on offering genuine and selfless help to the countries to enhance their capacity for independent development.

Trade between China and Pacific island countries has boomed over the past decade, rising from $180 million in 2001 to $1.5 billion in 2010, according to a report from Australia's ANZ Bank, while investment in areas including infrastructure, technology and agriculture also increased.

These efforts are "welcomed by the people of the island countries".

"This friendly cooperation has not only brought solid benefits to the two sides, but is also contributing to regional stability, development and prosperity," the statement said.

Yang said he hoped for the development of mutual respect and a cooperative partnership with the US.

Clinton delivered "unusually strong comments" before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, railing against cuts sought by Republicans to the US foreign aid program, saying the US "is in competition with China".

The US is at risk of falling behind in such competition, Clinton said, noting that "a lot of those small countries have voted with us in the United Nations".

Before President Hu Jintao's visit to the US in January, Clinton said that Washington would pursue a "positive, cooperative, and comprehensive relationship", and she welcomed China as a rising power.

Comments on "competition with China in the region" are mainly made due to domestic political concerns, experts said.

Ni Feng, deputy chief of US Studies at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, said the US government is facing severe budget cuts since the Republicans took over the House at the mid-term elections.

"$100 billion is a huge cut. Military spending is unlikely to be affected, so other departments are facing financial tightening," Ni said.

"Therefore, Clinton was trying to keep as much money as possible by throwing words at China."

China Daily