China's regional position was strengthened by US president Donald Trump's proclamation that climate change was a hoax and the subsequent withdrawal of American support for the Paris Agreement, the international accord to restrict global warming.
A policy analyst for the Fiji government, Joseph Veramu, said Fiji was on a mission to get industrialised economies to reduce emissions to which China seemed committed.
"Fiji was the only Pacific nation invited to the Belt and Road, the global leadership meeting, that was held in Beijing in May," said Mr Veramu.
