On April 5, 2023, associate researcher Wu Yi and Li Chaoxu, experts from Coconut Research Institute of CATAS, went to Tonga to implement the "Sixth Phase of China-Aid Tonga Agricultural Technical Assistance Project". On April 7, under the leadership of the project team leader Tang Huiyong, they met with Ambassador Cao Xiaolin of Chinese Embassy in Tonga.

During the meeting, associate Researcher Wu Yi briefed Ambassador Cao on the work schedule of the visit, including the survey plan of coconut resources and palm diseases and pests in Tongqa, coconut nursery construction and coconut seedling breeding plan, as well as Tonga's 10-year coconut industry development plan. Ambassador Cao welcomed the two coconut experts and introduced the current situation of agricultural development in Tonga, especially the current situation and existing problems of the coconut industry.

In particular, Ambassador Cao pointed out that the coconut tree is an important economic tree in Tonga and is one of the limited ways that most Tongans have access to cash. It is hoped that the two coconut experts will provide professional advice for the future development of Tonga's coconut industry in terms of coconut variety selection, supporting cultivation techniques and post-harvest processing after field research.