China lodges diplomatic complaint following Australian minister's comments
2018-01-11 10:35:47 source：The Sydney Morning Herald
January 11, 2018
Beijing: China has lodged a diplomatic complaint, labelling an attack on its Pacific aid program by Turnbull government minister Concetta Fierravanti-Wells as "full of ignorance and prejudice".
On Wednesday, international development minister, Ms Fierravanti-Wells, accused China of building useless buildings, white elephants and "roads to nowhere" in the Pacific.
But China's foreign ministry spokesman Lu Kang said China's aid program had "brought real benefits to local people" and had been welcomed by Pacific governments.
Australia is the largest aid donor in the Pacific, and focuses on health and education. China, the second-largest donor, has focused on infrastructure projects.
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