Biden administration has vowed to commit more resources to the Indo-Pacific as China seeks to boost economic, military and police links with Pacific island nations hungry for foreign investment.
"The single greatest threat to our very existence is climate change, it threatens our very hopes and dreams of prosperity", said Fiji's defence minister during the 19th Shangri-La Dialogue.
FM Wang Yi will speak with top officials of 10 island states and is expected to discuss proposals to radically increase its involvement in the security, economy and politics of the South Pacific.
More than 7,600 people, many of them rescued from flooded villages, were taking shelter in evacuation centres.
A state of natural disaster has been declared for 30 days as emergency services rush to provide food and clothing to the worst affected areas.
Fiji has issued a nationwide lockdown and declared a state of natural disaster as Cyclone Yasa barrels towards the island nation.
Cyclone Harold, its strength ranked in the highest category of five, passed over Fiji's south at about midday, levelling homes and snapping communications links in the archipelago, which has adopted curbs on movement to rein in the virus.
Sport can play a large role in the recovery after the coronavirus pandemic, and has proven its worth in the past.
The Fiji National Disaster Management Office said one person was in intensive care and more than 2,500 people had moved to 70 evacuation centers.
National Disaster Management Office Director Vasiti Soko urged locals and the thousands of tourists in Fiji not to be reckless as Sarai lashed the Pacific island nation with heavy rain and destructive winds.
Youths gathered at at the Youth Climate Summit at United Nations HQ by demanding radical moves to fight climate change.
A terrorist attack on two New Zealand mosques took the lives of 50 worshippers on Friday and left dozens more wounded when a white supremacist opened fire and live-streamed the shootings.
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