Pacific pulling power: western leaders rush to region in effort to counter China

News Snapshot:

France’s president, Emmanuel Macron, took off his suit jacket and tie on Friday and wandered through more than a mile of the wild forests of Papua New Guinea, accompanied by the country’s prime minister, James Marape. The leaders’ walk through the lush Varirata national park was underlined by the signing of a new environmental initiative – backed by French and EU financing – that will reward countries that preserve their rainforests. At the final stop on their forest walk, they both came to a panorama of partially forested hills stretching into the distance, newly named in the VIP visitor’s honour:...