Belt and Road Initiative

Manasseh Sogavare attended high-level talks in Beijing during the first ever official visit to China by a Solomons' prime minister.

His visit follows last month's controversial move by the Solomons to switch its diplomatic recognition to China, ending a long relationship with Taiwan.

While in Beijing, Mr Sogavare met China's President Xi Jinping, with the two leaders signing various agreements.

According to the ABC, one of the agreements was for co-operation under China's sprawling Belt and Road initiative.

An agreement was signed at the APEC Summit in Papua New Guinea, where China also agreed to defer Tonga's loan repayments for five years.

China also signed off on a $US14 million aid grant for a yet to be finalised project.

Lopeti Senituli, a political adviser to Tongan Prime Minister 'Akilisi Pohiva, says Tonga will benefit from Belt and Road.

"We are already exporting squash, we are also exporting our sea cucumber, but we are also hoping to expand that to other agricultural and marine resources to China," said Lopeti Senituli.

The announcements came on the sidelines of the APEC summit in Papua New Guinea last week.

Tonga's memorandum of understanding on Belt and Road was followed by a reprieve of the country's debt payments owed to China.

Lopeti Senituli, a political adviser to Tongan Prime Minister 'Akilisi Pohiva, told Reuters the loan payments had been deferred for five years.

Meanwhile, the Vanuatu Daily Post reports Vanuatu signed seven different MoUs with China earlier this month, including a Belt and Road agreement.