China promises more largesse for Caribbean

• To seek two-way investment pact
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The third China-Caribbean Economic and Trade Cooperation Forum opened on Monday in Port-of-Spain with a promise by China to invest big in the region.

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 Bruce Golding, Antigua & Barbuda's Baldwin Spencer and Guyana's Bharrat Jagdeo, that Beijing would provide funds for six initiatives aimed at boosting relations between his country and the CARICOM bloc.

"China will provide US$1 billion in loans and preferential nature to the Caribbean countries in support of local economic development," Wang said.

"China encourages exchanges and cooperation between the commercial banks of the two sides. The China Development Bank will put aside US$1 billion to be used as special commercial loans for infrastructure development," he said.

The visiting Chinese government official said Beijing also wanted to discuss and sign a protection agreement with the Caribbean to promote two-way investment.

Post-grad training

He also announced that China would provide US$1 million to the Caribbean Development Fund (CDF) in addition "to providing no less than 2,500 training opportunities for Caribbean countries and 30 opportunities with master's degrees for Caribbean professionals to study in China".

Wang said China would also help the in-house capabilities of Caribbean countries fight natural disasters and that Beijing would provide support in the building of seismic and tsunami early-warning and monitoring networks.

Trinidad and Tobago Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar, host of the forum, said the Caribbean was an ideal location for investment.

"Ours is a region replete with opportunities and an enabling investment environment. Indeed, you will find that not only is our all-year-round weather ideal, but our investment climate is perfect as well," she told Wang and his delegation.

"The synergies that exist between our Caribbean territories offer a collaborative investment potential that is well worth exploring," said Persad-Bissessar. "In Trinidad and Tobago, as indeed in many other Caribbean nations, there has been a dramatic shift in the way we conduct business as governments."

The two-day forum, dubbed 'Development Co-operation: Win for All', ended Tuesday.

On the margins of the talks, Antigua Prime Minister Spencer held bilateral discussions with the Chinese Vice-Premier on further cooperation between the two countries. His finance minister, Harold Lovell, will sign a RMB30-million Economic and Technical Cooperation Agreement for the implementation of projects agreed to between both countries as well as a RMB28.5-million loan for the construction of a substation for the Chinese power plant.