China has signed a series of agreements with Timor-Leste covering agriculture, media partnerships, and economic and technical cooperation.
Timor-Leste's Former President Xanana Gusmao and Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi have signed a series of bilateral agreements, but there was no deal on military or security matters.China's foreign minister signed a series of agreements in Timor-Leste on his final stop of a 10-day diplomatic blitz of the South Pacific on Friday, boosting ties between Beijing and Southeast Asia's youngest country.
The nations also signed a deal on the dispatch of a Chinese medical team to Timor-Leste, according to a government programme seen by journalists.The United States and Australia have expressed concern about Beijing's widening influence in the South Pacific in countries such as the Solomon Islands where a key security agreement was rubber-stamped at the start of Wang's eight-nation tour last week.
Timor-Leste, a former Portuguese colony that became independent from Indonesia in 2002 after 24 years of occupation, swore in its new president last month and he has set out to grow the country's relationship with Beijing.
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