Building on the Past: China's Evolving Presence in Samoa

• Author: Ashalyna Noa
• Position: PhD Candidate, Macmillan Brown Centre for Pacific Studies, University of Canterbury
• Pages: 35-56

35

BUILDING ON THE PAST: CHINA’S

EVOLVING PRESENCE IN SAMOA



Abstract

Over the past de cade, China has incr easingly attracted at tention from commen tators

for being an ‘emerg ing’ and contro versial part ner in the Pacif‌i c region challe nging the

status quo. Des pite this nar rative, Chin a has had deep-ro oted connectio ns throughout

many parts of the Pa cif‌ic, incl uding Samoa . roughout the la st century, a nu mber of

external law s and policies have played a pa rt in enabling the interact ions of the Chinese

in Samoa, cre ating the foundat ion for Chinese- Samoan relatio ns at a people-to-people

level. e f‌irs t wave of Chinese migrants se ttled in Samoa in the late 19t h century, with a

select few becoming established business entrepreneurs prior to the inf‌lux of indentured

labourers fro m China admin istered under Ge rman and New Zealan d control. Whi le

Chinese migra nts have conti nued to settle in S amoa, more rece ntly there has been a

notable increa se of Chinese inf‌luence in t he form of trade, investme nt and foreign aid.

Since becoming independent in 1962, and ocially forming diplomatic ties with

China in 1975 , Samoa has been able to asser t and navigate its own relation s with China

at a diplomatic l evel. Build ing on histori cal remnants , China’s growing inf‌l uence has

changed the geopolitical context in the region. China’s evolving inf‌luence since the late

1970s – and par ticularly over t he last few decades in the form of trade , investment and

foreign aid – has see n China becom e a signif‌icant pa rtner in the wi der Pacif‌ic regi on.

China has bec ome one of the top don ors in the Pacif‌ic r egion, with tra ditional par tners

urging cautio n to Pacif‌ic recipient s. is article explore s how China’s inf‌luence in Sa moa

has evolved ove r the last century t hrough migration , trade, investme nt and in its bilateral

relations.

I. Introduction

Exter nal powers have lon g had a hist ory of vy ing for inf‌luenc e in the Paci f‌ic

region, dr iven by their ec onomic, polit ical or str ategic in terests. H istoric ally t he

inf‌luence t hat these powers at tai ned at a global le vel had a ripple eect i n the

* Ashaly na Noa, Ph D Candida te, Macmi llan Br own Centre for P acif‌ic Stu dies, Unive rsity of

Can terb ury.

36 [Vol 27, 2020]

Pacif‌ic reg ion, seeing it t ransform f rom one of independent soc ieties involved i n

complex tradi ng networks to one of being cont ested, colonised a nd inf‌luenced in a

progressivel y globalised world. In t he current geopolitica l context, simil ar themes

continue to emer ge. Through r enewed interes ts of trad itional pa rtners a nd the

emergence of more contempor ary player s on the scene, the P acif‌ic has yet a gain

become a ‘contest ed space’ for partners hip. These histor ical and current i nf‌luences

– and the deci sion making of act ors involved – all play a p art in shapin g the ongoing

development of the Paci f‌ic and its peoples.

China cu rrently h as diplomat ic relations w ith ten Paci f‌ic countr ies and has

become one of the top donor s in the reg ion.1 Over the la st few decades, C hina ha s

drawn a lot of at tention from Wes tern comment ators and gover nments, of ten

regard ing Chi na as a ‘recent ’ or ‘emerging’ pl ayer in the reg ion. However, China’s

presence in the P acif‌ic is far more infu sed and, in some cases, goe s beyond that of

some of the more tra ditional donors th at we see in the region tod ay.

Using Samo a as a case st udy in the Pac if‌ic, thi s article e xplores how Chi na’s

presence has evolve d throug h migrat ion, trade a nd investment , and diplomat ic

relations. B y 1975, when Sa moa beca me one of the f‌irst Pa cif‌ic nation s to form

diplomatic rel ations with Chin a, Samoa already h ad a century of interac tions with

the Chine se insti gated by the i nf‌luence of imp erial powers s uch as Germa ny, the

United K ingdom and lat er New Zeala nd. These evolv ing inter actions bec ame a

foundation for bui lding the str ong diplomatic relat ionship that we see bet ween both

cou ntr ies t oday.



Far from bei ng the land locked people the y are ofte n

portrayed a s in hist ory, the Chi nese have been sk illed an d

adventurou s boatmen since t he dawn of thei r civil ization.

Even before we can sp eak of “Chi na” or the “Chi nese”,

Neolithic p eople from the ma inla nd of Asia were a ncestors

of the diverse pe oples of Ocean ia, who conquere d both the

Indian O cean and the Paci f‌ic in the f‌irst mi llennium BC. 2

1 At the time of w riting th is article, ei ght Pacif‌ic count ries had diploma tic relations wi th China:

Cook Isla nds, Federat ed States of M icronesia , Fiji, Niue, P apua New Gui nea, Sam oa, Tonga

and Vanuat u. In late 2019, a fur ther two countr ies – Kiribati a nd Solomon Islands – sw itched

alleg iance to recog nise Chi na rather tha n Taiwan.

2 Louise Le vathes When C hina Ruled th e Seas: e Treasure Fl eet of the Dragon  rone, 1405–33

(Simon and Sc huster, New York, 1994) a t 22.