CANBERRA, Oct. 25 (Xinhua) -- The Australian government said on Friday that it is willing to partner with China on quality infrastructure projects in the Pacific.
Pacific and International Development Minister Alex Hawke, who leads the government's dealings in the Pacific, said that such a partnership made good sense.
"We'll form a partnership with China on infrastructure. It's not a problem, if it means better-quality infrastructure and debt that is good debt because you've got the right asset," Hawke told News Corp Australia in an interview.
"We're willing to partner with China on an infrastructure project that is in health or education, that will deliver great benefit for partner countries."
Australia and China are working with Papua New Guinea (PNG) in an existing trilateral Pacific partnership to improve malaria diagnosis by strengthening laboratory services and research.
The first major projects signed off by the Australian Infrastructure Financing Facility for the Pacific include the electrification of PNG, a new undersea telecommunications cable from East Timor to Australia, and flood mitigation measures in Fiji.
The electrification of PNG involves a five-country partnership, with a goal to boost the number of people with access to electricity from 13 percent to 70 percent by 2030.
