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Not only has China pledged to be a\u00a0 “trustworthy and reliable friend” to the Caribbean countries with which it shares bilateral relations, but the country’s Assistant Foreign Minister Hua Chunying has stated that the Asian country will speak up for its Caribbean friends on multilateral occasions and provide assistance to the best of their ability.<\/p>\n
Her remarks came as she addressed the opening ceremony of the 8th Caribbean China Consultation this morning at the InterContinental Dominica Cabrits Resort & Spa, where Chinese and Caribbean representatives from Foreign Ministries convened to lay out clear plans for future cooperation.<\/p>\n
Chunying emphasised that the parties have remained committed to building a strong China Caribbean community with a shared future, thanks to the strategic guidance and commitment of the various leaders with whom they share diplomatic relations. She noted that all of this has been done while establishing a brilliant example of mutual respect, equality, mutual benefit, and common development. The Chinese official stated that since the previous consultation in February 2019, China and the Caribbean have joined forces in the face of the pandemic, achieving new results in exchanges and cooperation in several spheres.<\/p>\n
Among these are the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) on the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) with eight Caribbean countries, as well as cooperation plans with two Caribbean countries and the realisation of many infrastructure projects, as highlighted.<\/p>\n
She also mentioned that Chinese President Xi Jinping has proposed a Global Development Initiative (GDI), which prioritises issues such as poverty alleviation, development funding, green economy, agriculture, and technical collaboration. The Foreign Minister opined that this guide is particularly compatible with the demands of Caribbean countries.<\/p>\n
“That is why China has established the China Caribbean Development Centre; we hope it will become a new platform for our cooperation focusing on development issues and facilitating cooperation in assisting Caribbean countries’ local development,” she explained.<\/p>\n
She also cited the formation of a China Caribbean disaster prevention and mitigation fund as a way to address the “pressing needs and concerns” of Caribbean countries in order to promote the effective implementation of the Paris Agreement.<\/p>\n
Chunying announced that, in addition to the two million dollar contribution made last year, the government will provide an extra one million dollars for disaster prevention and relief efforts in the Caribbean. She outlined four proposals for further growth of the China-Caribbean relationship, with high-level contacts topping the list.<\/p>\n
The Chinese official expects that now that the COVID-19 pandemic has passed, there will be more two-way visits between China and Caribbean countries as their leaders assist each other on issues involving their core interests and major concerns.<\/p>\n
Her second proposal was the strengthening of cooperation between the nations, with China pledging to implement the GDI to realize the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and promote steady trade growth, strengthen industrial investment cooperation, boost the blue economy and the digital economy, and make best the use of
\nthe south-south Cooperation Fund.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd we also would like to work with the Caribbean countries to implement projects that are now being built or have been agreed upon,\u201d Chunying said.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are ready to continue economic and technological assistance without any political conditions and hope to see greater success in your national developments, and we will work closely with our Caribbean colleagues to see that the one million US Dollars fund for disaster prevention relief is put in place as soon as possible,\u201d she added.<\/p>\n
Also on their agenda is the broadening of People-to-People relations with China, as well as the negotiation of a civil aviation agreement with other Caribbean countries to promote two-way travel.<\/p>\n
The fourth item on the agenda is to boost international collaboration between the Caribbean and China. The state official expressed her country’s willingness to collaborate with the region to uphold true multilateralism and join hands to make the global governance system more just and equitable and defend the legitimate rise of common interests of developing countries.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe support a bigger role of Caribbean countries on relevant issues in the international arena and we are ready to offer necessary assistance in fulfilling these important duties,\u201d she declared.<\/p>\n
According to Chunying, the Asian country not only understands but takes seriously the special concern of the Caribbean in realizing green transition and protecting food security among other things.<\/p>\n
Therefore she has reiterated that China will continue to speak up for its \u2018Caribbean friends\u2019 on multilateral occasions and provide support assistance to the best of their capacity.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe attach great importance to the Bridgetown initiative,\u201d she stated. \u201cWe supported developing countries including those in the Caribbean in accelerating green, low carbon, and sustainable development. We’re ready to work with you to address financing difficulties and accelerate energy and climate transition.\u201d<\/p>\n
She also urged the other developed countries with responsibilities and commitment to deliver at least 100 million US dollars to developing countries for climate response every year and address the core concerns of developing countries over climate finance and adaptation.<\/p>\n
In closing, Chunying placed on record China\u2019s immediate willingness to establish formal relations with CARICOM based on the one-China principle.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Not only has China pledged to be a\u00a0 “trustworthy and reliable friend” to the Caribbean countries with which it shares bilateral relations, but the country’s Assistant Foreign Minister Hua Chunying has stated that the Asian country will speak up for…","protected":false},"author":13,"featured_media":248131,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_cbd_carousel_blocks":"[]","footnotes":""},"categories":[36,22,286,77,235,76,9,12,14],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-305034","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-economy-development","category-environment","category-governance","category-homepage","category-homepage-carousel","category-international-relations","category-news","category-politics","category-regional"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n