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 ‘emerging’ and controversial partner in the Pacif‌ic region challenging the

status quo. Despite this narrative, China has had deep-rooted connections throughout

many parts of the Pacif‌ic, including Samoa. roughout the last century, a number of

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

in Samoa, creating the foundation 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 from China administered under German and New Zealand control. While

Chinese migrants have continued to settle in Samoa, more recently 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 level. Building on historical remnants, China’s growing inf‌luence has

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

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

foreign aid – has seen China become a signif‌icant partner in the wider Pacif‌ic region.

China has become one of the top donors in the Pacif‌ic region, with traditional 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

External powers have long had a history of vying for inf‌luence in the Pacif‌ic

region, driven by their economic, political or strategic interests. Historically the

inf‌luence that these powers attained at a global level had a ripple eect in the

* Ashalyna Noa, PhD Candidate, Macmillan Brown Centre for Pacif‌ic Studies, University of

Can terb ury.

36[Vol 27, 2020]

Pacif‌ic region, seeing it transform from one of independent societies involved in

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 emerge. Through renewed interests of traditional partners and the

emergence of more contemporary players on the scene, the Pacif‌ic has yet again

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 currently has diplomatic relations with ten Pacif‌ic countries and has

become one of the top donors in the region.1 Over the last few decades, China has

drawn a lot of attention from Western commentators and governments, often

regarding China as a ‘recent’ or ‘emerging’ player in the region. However, China’s

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

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

Using Samoa as a case study in the Pacif‌ic, this article explores how China’s

presence has evolved through migration, trade and investment, and diplomatic

relations. By 1975, when Samoa became one of the f‌irst Pacif‌ic nations to form

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

the Chinese instigated by the inf‌luence of imperial powers such as Germany, the

United Kingdom and later New Zealand. These evolving interactions became a

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

cou ntr ies t oday.



Far from being the landlocked people they are often

portrayed as in history, the Chinese have been skilled and

adventurous boatmen since the dawn of their civilization.

Even before we can speak of “China” or the “Chinese”,

Neolithic people from the mainland of Asia were ancestors

of the diverse peoples of Oceania, who conquered 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 Islands, Federated States of Micronesia, Fiji, Niue, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, 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 Levathes When China Ruled the Seas: e Treasure Fleet of the Dragon rone, 1405–33

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