Chinese Ambassador to Australia Xiao Qian says Beijing’s engagement with South Pacific island countries poses no threat to Canberra, responding to fears that the East Asian nation would establish a military foothold in the Solomon Islands. Xiao attempted to reassure his host nation in a newspaper opinion piece published on Thursday as reports emerged of a planned trip by a high-level Chinese delegation to the Solomons following the completion of a bilateral security pact. “The cooperation between China and the South Pacific island countries is conducive to people’s well-being on both sides, and regional prosperity and stability, and will by no means threaten Australia’s security,” Xiao wrote in The Australian Financial Review. “China’s rise should not be seen as a threat to Australia,” he added, but made no specific mention of the Solomon Islands or the security pact. Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison, whose conservative government is seeking a fourth three-year term in elections next week, said he disagreed with the envoy that “Chinese government interference in the Pacific is of no consequence.”“I think it’s of great consequence,” he told reporters.