From 18th to 31st August 2026, the Seminar on Capacity Building for Village Officials from Pacific Island Countries, hosted by International Poverty Reduction Center in China (IPRCC), was successfully held in Beijing and Anhui Province. The 14‑day seminar brought together 27 officials from four Pacific‑island countries, namely Fiji, Samoa, the Solomon Islands and Tonga.  Jie Ping, Deputy Director General of International Poverty Reduction Center in China, attended and delivered speeches at both the opening and closing ceremonies.  Ms. SALANIETA BALEIGAU from the Ministry of Rural, Maritime Development and Disaster Management of Fiji, and Mr. SOANE PAEA I LINCOLN HOPONOA of the Prime Minister’s Office of Tonga, spoke on behalf of participants at the opening ceremony and closing ceremony respectively.

Centered on the theme of "Capacity Building for Village Officials", the seminar featured special lectures and cultural experience activities in Beijing, followed by field visits to Fengyang County, Mingguang City and Dingyuan County of Chuzhou City, Anhui Province.

A participant from the Solomon Islands commented: “After two weeks of study and site visits, I have deeply realized that genuine development must put people at its heart. Projects should not be planned merely around budgets. We need to listen to people’s demands, advance front line development, uphold the vision of leaving no‑one behind, and pool joint efforts from all levels to deliver tangible development outcomes.” Through seminar‑based learning and field visits, participants had further deepened their understanding of China’s development achievements, poverty‑alleviation experience and outstanding culture. Having gained fruitful insights, they looked forward to continuously deepening bilateral exchanges and cooperation and applying the lessons learned to rural development back home.