Business
China steps up investments across Caribbean
Minister of Tourism Edmund Bartlett (right) welcomes China Vice-Premier Hui Liangyu (left) to Jamaica on his arrival – Photo by Barrington Flemming
China’s vice premier and a 60-member delegation arrived in Jamaica’s capital Monday to sign two grants to boost the island’s development as the Asian economic giant steps up its investments across the Caribbean.
Vice Premier Hui Liangyu said Beijing is committed to assisting Jamaica, a heavily indebted middle-income country that gets most of its foreign exchange from tourism, remittances from Jamaicans working abroad and exports of bauxite.
“China is determined to give you the necessary help in the future,” Hui said through a translator during a brief ceremony at the Jamaican prime minister’s office.
He made the comments after Chinese and Jamaican officials signed two grants worth US$3.1 million. The money will go to projects mutually agreed upon after consultation by both governments.
Jamaican Prime Minister Bruce Golding said China has recently signed off on nearly US$8 million in grants, including a pact made last week at a two-day trade forum in Trinidad.
The Chinese delegation touring the region underlined the growing economic links between the Asian industrial powerhouse and the tourism-dependent Caribbean. Finance officials across the region, where the U.S. is still the largest investment source, have welcomed China’s growing involvement.
Last week, Hui visited Trinidad for a China-Caribbean economic and trade forum attended by hundreds of Chinese and Caribbean government officials and business executives. At that meeting, China announced it will provide up to US$1 billion in soft loans to Caribbean countries to help bolster its economic relationship with the region.
