China and small-island developing states

Abstract

Introduction China in recent years has dramatically increased its economic involvement with the global economy and expanded and consolidated its diplomatic and political ties across the world. China’s actions are prompted by an amalgam of economic, political and security motives. This escalation and intensification of engagement is to be expected from an emerging superpower like China. The country’s expanding reach has encompassed relations with small island developing states (SIDS), which some find to be an enigma given their apparently marginal if not irrelevant significance to a global superpower. For many developed countries and large developing countries, relations with small island developing states are an unavoidable inconvenience, which should entail minimal time and resources. Yet