China’s foreign minister arrives in Tonga on Pacific tour

By NICK PERRY
Associated Press

WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) — China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi arrived in Tonga on Tuesday as he continued his regional island-hopping tour a day after failing to ink an ambitious deal with 10 South Pacific nations. Wang fell shy of consensus on the multilateral security and economic plan at a meeting in Fiji after several nations voiced concerns. But he has been notching up smaller wins by signing bilateral agreements with the countries he’s been visiting, and he plans to sign more deals in Tonga. Wang’s tour comes amid growing international concerns about Beijing’s military and financial ambitions in the region.