Chinese state broadcaster CCTV says Solomon Islands Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare and Chinese President Xi Jinping have agreed on a "comprehensive strategic partnership."

Sogavare is making a seven-day visit to China. It's his first trip there since the Pacific nation signed a security pact with Beijing last year.

The Solomons is at the sharp end of Beijing and Washington's rivalry for influence in the Pacific. China is funding Sogavare's visit.

Solomons officials say the trip will focus on bolstering increasingly close bilateral ties.

Sogavare said of his trip, "It's good to be back home."

Sogavare will meet business leaders in Guangdong and Jiangsu provinces, and attend the opening of a new embassy in Beijing.

The Solomons switched diplomatic recognition from Taiwan to Beijing in 2019.

The country became a lightning rod for geopolitical friction in the Pacific after concluding the region's first security accord with China.

Last month, Japan conducted joint maritime policing exercises around the Pacific island nation of Kiribati, targeting illegal fishing. The drills demonstrated the role of aid and development assistance in the tussle for influence in the region.