Chinese and Timorese officials have been negotiating how Timor-Leste can take part in projects in the fields of oil, farming and tourism under the auspices of the Chinese-led Belt and Road initiative, the South China Morning Post reports.
The Hong Kong newspaper quotes Timorese Foreign Affairs and Cooperation Minister Dionísio da Costa Babo Soares as saying an interview that he and Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi discussed the projects when they met in Bangkok this month on the sidelines of an ASEAN summit, but had yet to agree on starting any.
“We have been very careful and respectful of our partners, not only China but also other countries,” the report quotes Mr Soares as saying.
“We don’t see China as a threat to any other countries in the world.”
China is ready to begin planning Sino-Timorese cooperation in the Belt and Road scheme, in such areas as the petrochemical industry, trade, agriculture and fisheries, the South China Morning Post quotes Mr Wang as saying when he met Mr Soares.
