Eric George has seen decades of broken promises on his home island, Malaita.
From bridges that have never been fixed, building projects that never came, or just the pot-holed roads in a perpetual state of disrepair.
More recently, a US Aid agricultural project, stripped of funding by the Trump administration, lies dormant, only its sign remaining.
But now, Mr George said, things were changing rapidly.
"This road construction work here is funded by the People's Republic of China," he told the ABC, pointing to a conga line of local workers in China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation hard hats, digging a trench.
"We hope that early next year, around March, April, they will start to do the tar sealing."
For most Pacific islands, this is not a major development. Across the region, China Aid has been building big infrastructure projects like roads, stadiums and even palaces — big things people can see, and use.
But in Malaita, this road project is a big deal.
Just three years ago, it was illegal.
'We just want development'
The island of Malaita, and its provisional capital Auki, sits about 100km from the capital, Honiara.
It is Solomon Islands's most populated province and has regularly agitated for self-determination, and even independence from Solomon Islands.
It was in this context that the province made global headlines five years ago when it banned Chinese investment and aid on the island, following the national government's decision to switch Solomon Islands's allegiances from Taiwan to China.
At the time, the region's premier, Daniel Suidani, was lauded — particularly by Australian and US observers — as the man "standing up to China" and its continued push for influence in the Pacific and Solomon Islands.
He was openly despised by the country's prime minister at the time, the pro-China Manasseh Sogavare, and in 2023, Mr Suidani was booted from power in controversial circumstances.
The new Malaitan government later tore up the China ban.
When he was in power, Mr Suidani claimed to have widespread support for his China ban, claiming about 80 per cent of Malaita province backed him.
But on the ground in Malaita these days, it appears sentiment has changed.
"Nowadays things are different, the Chinese come to do their work, we don't lose out," Auki resident Modestra Aru told the ABC.
"I'm not sure if the Chinese will do these things and it'll turn out well in the end, but we'll see."
Another, Nelson Ne'e, said there were still fears about the "rumours" of Chinese companies taking land, but he said he trusted the country's laws to protect them.
He said he welcomed Chinese investment — along with all of the country's aid partners.
"Us here in Malaita, we do not favour any development partner, because to move us forward, we just want development."
While Elizabeth Ugulumae, who was visiting the local market, said one of the main investments they needed was road access, and "now we're seeing it, people are able to see tangible development."
Phillip Subu, the president of the region's youth council, knows the China story in his home province well.
When the ABC spoke to him in 2022, he was suspicious, like many, of Beijing's motives in Solomon Islands and questioned whether the country was ready for 'The Switch' to China.
Today, he said, things were a little different.
"With the infrastructure development that is happening now, I can see that there is an increased level of tolerance [of Chinese investment]," he said.
Things have also changed for Mr Subu personally — when he spoke to the ABC, he had just returned from a months-long study trip to China.
He said he maintained his firm belief in the values of democracy, but could not turn down an opportunity to study abroad and develop his agricultural skills.
And, he said, it opened his eyes to the possibilities for his homeland.
"Even when you travel to the villages in China you see the road access is very good," he said.
"I look back home and see the need here. [If] we talk about agriculture or any other development, you need good connectivity in terms of road infrastructure.
"That's one of our biggest needs in Malaita. So when people see China coming in with these infrastructure projects, they accept it, because for the past 40 years, since independence, that's what we've really wanted."
Friends to all, enemies to none
For Eric George, who is now the provisional secretary of the Malaitan government, he said they "welcome every donor partner who's willing to assist".
And when asked about whether the people in Malaita care about where the aid comes from, his answer was simple.
"No, not really," he told the ABC.
"Back three years ago, people didn't understand about the bilateral aid from China. But now that it is here, and it starts to transform the lives of our people, [they see] it's beneficial."
In a symbolic representation of the geopolitical tussle occurring in Solomon Islands — and the Pacific more generally — on the other side of town, away from the China-funded road project, the Australian government has funded a similar major road project.
And on social media, the two entities — the Australian High Commission Solomon Islands and the Chinese Embassy Solomon Islands — have been heavily promoting their respective contributions.
The Chinese Embassy has even renamed the Facebook page dedicated to its now completed National Stadium project in Honiara to the China-Aid Auki Road Project.
Mr George said he was grateful to all development partners in Malaita, including Australia, who had been "so supportive".
But he said he believed the days of excluding China from the province were over.
"We are all friends," he said
"That's why I say 'friends to all and enemies to none'."
'How long will it last?'
For Daniel Suidani, the anti-China former premier of Malaita, life is very different these days.
The former school teacher is still a member of Malaita's parliament, but he is less outspoken these days, leaving his friend and adviser, Celsius Talifilu, to often speak on his behalf.
In part, it is because of a long-running court case against him, which insiders say was instigated by the former Sogavare government.
Mr Suidani and Mr Talifilu are facing charges of illegal assembly relating to alleged roles in instigating riots in Auki in 2021.
This week, after a 12-month wait, it came to trial. The duo will know their fate on Friday.
Whereas in the past his public addresses were attended by thousands and reported on by local media, this week the ABC was the only media to attend day one of the trial. And a small crowd of about 15 watched on in court, a mix of family and curious court watchers.
Speaking outside court, Mr Talifilu declined to comment on the court case.
But addressing the increased role of China in their home province — and the new road project funded by China Aid — he said he always questioned Beijing's motives.
"It's influence," he said.
"You can read it in the papers, the small things that have to be published. It's the imagery; they use the image to influence people's minds. That's very common with how the Chinese run their propaganda.
"It's fair to say that China are doing things, no doubt about it. But the issue is, of these things that they are doing, how long will it last for us?
"Will it really help people? Or are we seeing physical things, and that's it?"
Watch The Pacific's special, China in the Pacific: The untold story on iView.
