Bank of China chairman visits Papua New Guinea amid Sino-US strategic rivalry

SYDNEY, June 2 (Reuters) – Bank of China (601988.SS) chairman Ge Haijiao has travelled to Papua New Guinea (PNG) as the world’s fourth-largest bank seeks an operating licence in the Pacific Islands nation, which is seeking to boost China trade while expanding U.S. defence ties. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken last week travelled to PNG to sign a defence cooperation agreement, prompting some domestic political criticism and student protests amid concern the island nation would become embroiled in strategic competition between Washington and Beijing. China, a major infrastructure lender and creditor in the Pacific Islands, struck a security pact…