. more broadly, fiji ’ s ‘ look north ’ foreign policy has boosted diplomatic relations between our countries and fiji continues to benefit through china ’ s support for the much needed infrastructure development and foreign investment in the economy. fiji ’ s growth momentum has been exceptionally strong by historical standards, at over four percent for the past three years. our growth outlook is favourable and continues to be driven by the strong investment, including by domestic investors, and consumption activity. this has been supported by the resilience of our tourism and inward remittances which continue to grow strongly despite the slowing global economy. i am happy to say that our financial sector is sound and our external position remains stable with adequate reserves and a modest current account balance. our forecasts on the fijian economy are consistent with those of the imf article iv team which was here two weeks ago. our macroeconomic stability and favourable economic outlook augurs well in our drive to find greater opportunities for growth with china, a country of remarkable transformation from which we can continue to learn. ladies and gentlemen, today ’ s occasion reminds us that together we have achieved much and together we can achieve more for the betterment of our countries. let me thank the ambassador again for inviting me today and congratulate you for the great success in organizing this auspicious event. vinaka vakalevu. bis central bankers ’ speeches

on their external trade. so, developments in china have an important bearing on the fijian economy both indirectly through our major trading partners, and directly through our own growing trade and investment relations. bis central bankers ’ speeches trade in terms of our trade, fiji holds a deficit with china that has grown exponentially from around $ 32 million in the year 2000 to approximately $ 490 million in 2014. over this 15 year period, our imports from china, which include machinery & vehicles, food products, clothing & footwear, iron & steel, chemicals, and furniture, have risen steadily from $ 34 million to $ 624 million. similarly, our exports to china, which include mostly raw materials – wood chips, fish, tuna, seaweed, mineral water and vegetable products, have also gained traction especially with the inclusion of bauxite exports in 2012. our export earnings have increased from a mere $ 1. 3 million to around $ 135 million over the last 15 years. while we recognise the immense trade opportunities fiji has with china, we are often constrained by the supply capacity of our industries to meet the large demand from china. hence, our focus must be to target china ’ s higher - end niche markets for diverse products that include mushrooms, quality ginger and ginger products, seafood ( including sea weed ) and skin and beauty products. to this end, we are appreciative of the funding and technical assistance provided by the chinese government to expand our export potential in supplying these favoured goods. fijian mineral water is one product which could become more popular amongst the growing class of chinese who have been abroad and are becoming more and more used to drinking premium bottled water. fiji will need to focus on these niche areas and sell the pristine nature of our products to a perceptive and rapidly growing chinese market. tourism ladies and gentlemen, we worry that a slowdown in china will have an indirect and negative impact on tourist arrivals from our major source markets of australia and new zealand. these two markets make up around 65 percent of our annual visitors. but china itself is now an important growth market for our tourism. on a global scale, the number of chinese travellers has grown to over 100 million annually, a direct reflection of china ’ s increasing economic wealth and its rapidly growing middle class. like the rest of the world, we must remain diligent in our efforts to entice china ’ s large group of vacationers to our shores. while fiji may not have extensive museums, large high end shopping malls