During a virtual seminar about economic relations between China and the Caribbean, former government minister Dr. Bhoendradatt Tewarie stated that although China views the Caribbean as one of many places in the world that are important to the development of its global agenda, he considered whether the Caribbean leaders would seize the chance to fortify their ties with China.
Tewarie mentioned that the ruling Communist Party of China released a document in 2008 outlining its views on Latin America and the Caribbean in connection to Chinese foreign policy. “That was the beginning, you might say, of a very focused interest by China in our part of the world. Today, China is a major presence in the Caribbean and Latin America in trade, investment, and development.”
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According to Tewarie, this relationship is still developing. He cited the 2013 visit by Chinese President Xi Jinping to the Caribbean as a significant turning point in the development of China-Caribbean ties. Xi met with Kamla Persad-Bissessar, the current leader of the opposition, in Port of Spain on that tour. Tewarie said that during that visit, Xi “met with every leader of Caricom that was not aligned to Taiwan and each engagement was reported on the Chinese government website.” These three nations are Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, St. Lucia, and St. Kitts & Nevis.
China and T&T have maintained diplomatic relations since 1974. During Xi’s visit to T&T, a memorandum of understanding was signed, allowing T&T and China to collaborate in fields like infrastructure and energy that interest both parties. Tewarie went on to say that in 2013, Xi traveled to the US, Mexico, Costa Rica, and the Caribbean. “The Caribbean visit, you might say, was a kind of initiation for Xi Jinping to this part of the world, but to also give him a sense of the countries that China considered important in the (Western) Hemisphere.”
According to Tewarie, China has invested more than $10 billion in various Caricom nations. “There can be no question (that) China’s interest in the region in trade, investment, finance, and projects has increased.” Tewarie said that interest is visible “from Cuba, Jamaica, and the Bahamas in the north to T&T, Guyana, and Suriname in the south and every country in between.”
China is now Latin America’s largest (financial) lender for energy and infrastructure projects, according to him, surpassing the combined efforts of the World Bank, Inter-American Development Bank, and International Monetary Fund. According to Tewarie, countries like Brazil, Chile, Cuba, and Uruguay have China as one of their main export markets. He continued by saying that the Caribbean must be aware of these trends.
According to Tewarie, the Caribbean can preserve its relationships with the US and Europe while fortifying ties with China. Tewarie thinks the Caribbean hasn’t taken full use of the prospects for growth provided by the US’s Caribbean Basin Initiative and comparable paths through accords with the European Union.
