PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad (CMC) — The two-day China Caribbean Economic and Trade Cooperation Forum opened here on today with China announcing that it would pump millions of dollars in assistance to the Caribbean Community (CARICOM).
Vice Premier of the People’s Republic of China, Wang Qishan told the opening ceremony attended by a number of Caribbean leaders including Jamaica’s Prime Minister Bruce Golding, his Antigua and Barbuda counterpart Baldwin Spencer and the Guyana President Bharrat Jagdeo, that Beijing would provide funds for six initiatives aimed at boosting relations between the two regions.
“China will provide one billion US dollars in loans and preferential nature to the Caribbean countries in support of local economic development,” he said.
The six initiatives which China is funding through special business loans ‘to strengthen friendly co-operation’ between China and the Caribbean are:
(1) China will invest in infrastructure construction projects via commercial banks on both sides.
(2) provide training places in China to assist the Caribbean in their response to natural disasters such as earthquake or tsunami monitoring and support and disaster mitigation training.
(3) China will help Caribbean countries with small scale construction of new solar energy projects.
(4) Strengthen co-operation in culture, education and health by providing Chinese language training, teachers and teaching materials, and continuing to provide scholarships. China will continue to send medical teams and provide health care training, and also strengthen cultural exchanges with the Caribbean countries.
(5) Caribbean countries to increase exports to China and to encourage Chinese enterprises to export to the Caribbean and to promote Chinese tourism into the Caribbean.
(6) promote agricultural projects, investments in agriculture, fisheries, agricultural science and technology, research and development co-operation.
No doubt the six initiatives will stimulate local innovation and create jobs. At local level there’s a lack of skilled electricians, carpenters, mechanics and masons who can help build infrastructure projects. Most of these workers have to be trained on the job and that often delays projects and makes them more expensive. Somehow we need to get able bodied people including youth who may lack educational qualifications into vocational training to build not only working skills but good working habits.
Many hard workers and capable people are excluded from job opportunities through lack of educational qualifications.
However, everything comes at a price and Caribbean governments must do more to manage the needs and expectations of both groups since these investments will also negatively impact some local businesses who even now are unable compete with Chinese imports.
Greater attention also needs to be paid to how Chinese and locals interact and to encourage greater understanding and respect on both sides.
Kung Hei Fat Choi!
HELLO DOUBLE DUMMY:
BY “HERE” I MEANT THE CARIBBEAN!
ADMIN
that was suppose to have been a reply to “Rubbish talk” below. thank you
its amazing how money overides principles practically everyone who has posted thus far only seem to be concerned with the benefits and not the consequences which would give an air of balance to their thought process. no wonder labour wins elections in dca because a lot of people don’t care with consequences once the appearance of money is there is given.(so funny to me because the deal was 300 million which has yet to be manifested as a true economic initiative for dca or changed our economic landscape) people are speaking like china is our best friend(the chinese goal is economic dominance that will allow them to suck us dry like the economic powers before them that we seem to detest so much) aren’t black people tired of being bought or sold from white master now to chinese masters? when are we as a people going to rise on our own accord and rebuild our motherland?(incidentally we are helping the chinese to reunite with their long lost brothers in taiwan.lol)why are we helping them and not ourselves? ask yourself that question. all the persons talking about america and england never give us are just perpetuating the mental slavery syndrome that has kept the black man enslaved in these times.
This is what the US has failed to do. In his reporting to the US State Department the ill-informed US Consular Officer in Barbados (sipping rum and coke) must tell his country that this is the type of assistanve that the US must begin to consider for the Caribean if they want Caribbean countries not to look to China. The US borrows trillions of dollars from China and then tell us we are too small to borow a few millions.When we do they blackmail us as was the case with the “wikiliks” report.
I salute China and ask our leaders in the Caribbean including Prime Minister Skerrit to make full use of that line of funding support. Go for it Skerro. You have my support
And so the chinese plan to take over the world continues. Be wise with the acceptance of gifts. Everything comes with a price
AMEN TO THAT REAL ‘ANONYMOUS’
And the u.s never took over the world in exactly the same way? Oh, no, they just invade, kill and take what they want. Moron
Whether one likes the Chinese or not, it is an undisputable FACT that the Chinese have been doing more to help in the development of Caribbean and African countries, in recent times, than any of our former european colonial powers or our rich superpower neighbour has ever done to assist our countries in their developmental process (particularly in the area of infrastructure). And to consider than China, notwithstanding its great economic advancement in recent times, is still considered a developing country.
We must continue to embrace the chinese as our friends and partners and continue the mutual collaboration and dialogue needed to strenghten that realtionship. This means that we must fight down all the xenophobic elements within our societies who are bent on creating racial tensions and ‘bad blood’ between us and our chinese brothers all for their own selfish, narrow political objectives.
I like your thinking. well said.
While I am happy to hear the massive infussion of cash for our region, I am concern after reading the entire article from the link (Jamaica Observer) that the focus seem to be infrastructure. The reason for my concern is simple, countries like Dominica do not have natural resources like Trinidad oil and pitch lake to generate much needed revenue to repay the loans that will be taken for their development; having said that I hope that China can provide funding for Agro-processing plants, other manufacturing plants that would complement Dominica’s industries like agriculture etc and hopefully improvement of feeder roads, bridges and new access roads for farmers. This would be well in line with the theme “Win for ALL” which I hope China would have done their due deligence as it relates to how each country will pay loans based on Dominica’s existing sources of revenue. Other than the above I believe Caribbean governments need to continue negotiations as a single block or risk being given funding for projects that does not stimulate economic growth, and loan terms that pose difficulty to repay and grow our local economy.
in support of your comment, was thinking and looking for the word agricultural development and it is not mentioned there guess it comes under the banner of local economic development, lets hope dominica can make a case for agricultural development
Thanks for the support and on the matter of your comment, your observation is correct in regards to Agricultural Development.
And what’s the catch?
The catch is you do not have to accept it,but we have been getting assistance from them for a long time and being criticized for it and in the meantime the great US has been loaning from them.
The catch is indebtedness and DA as collateral. Other islands that cannot pay will also find themselves in the same situation. It is called an economic takeover.
What’s that catch whem they Americans give? Oh wait there is not subtaintial giving on their part is there.
Dominica needs to elbow its way through its neighbors and secure funding to improve air access to the island. It’s now or never. Such an opportunity will not present itself again. Let’s put the politics aside and do something to finally see a passenger jet land in Dominica.
Too bad for Taiwan. China is buying more votes.
China is Taiwan,Taiwan is in China ; let thewm work it out.
Thank you China, if UK and USA continue to look in the other direction, we are happy to welcome all your assistance.
Yes I
Boy…. these Chinese are surely loaded….
Dominica need to streamline their investment process and make it easier for foreign direct investments so we can benefit.. Otherwise we will only get a small portion..
HOW MANY CHINESE DAT COMING WIT DAT U S 1 BILLION?
LET ME TELL U HOW THIS IS GOING TO HAPPEN:
A LOT OF CHINESE BIG SHOT MONEY MEN ARE GOING TO COME HERE AND BUY UP REAL ESTATE…AND SOON WE WILL BE CALLING CHINA “DADDY”
Did you read properly and ynderstand the news? It is not only for Dominica Dummy!
Fantastic.
What say you America?
More scandalous reports by your junior diplomats?