BEIJING >> China’s President Xi Jinping pledged fresh investment in Tonga when he met King Tupou VI of the South Pacific island nation in Beijing today, as the Asian giant works to extend its influence across the Asia-Pacific.

Home to about 108,000 people, Tonga is among the small states at the centre of a growing contest for influence between China and Western nations, thanks to their strategic location, U.N. votes and seabed mineral resources.

China will continue to “provide assistance to Tonga’s economic and social development,” Xi told Tupou when they met in the Great Hall of the People, but did not give a specific figure.

“China and Tonga are true friends who have stood together through thick and thin,” Xi added.

“No matter how the international situation changes, China will conti

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