" This volume] is not just timely, but it resides in a field where interest is growing strongly. For any University course teaching China's foreign relations, it would comprise a highly recommended source - in particular for any component dealing with China's relations with the developing world." . Roderic Alley, Senior Fellow, Centre for Strategic Studies, Victoria University of Wellington

It is important to see China's activities in the Pacific Islands, not just in terms of a specific set of interests, but in the context of Beijing's recent efforts to develop a comprehensive and global foreign policy. China's policy towards Oceania is part of a much larger outreach to the developing world, a major work in progress that involves similar initiatives in Asia, Africa, Latin America, and the Middle East. This groundbreaking study of China's "soft power" initiatives in these countries offers, for the first time, the diverse perspectives of scholars and diplomats from Oceania, North American, China and Japan. It explores such issues as regional competition for diplomatic and economic ties between Taiwan and China, the role of overseas Chinese in developing these relationships and various analyses of the benefits and drawbacks of China's growing presence in Oceania. In addition, the reader obtains a rare review of the Japanese response to China's role in Oceania, presented by Japan's leading scholar of the Pacific region."