The Ministerial Conference of the 4th China-Caribbean Economic and Trade Cooperation Forum was held at the Dongyu Island resort in Hainan, China from the 12th to 14th September 2024.
During the opening ceremony, the chairman of the conference, Vice Minister of Commerce Wang Shouwen indicated that the People’s Republic of China will continue to be a key ally and good partner to their Caribbean countries and offered a renewed commitment to deepen political mutual trust and enhance economic and trade opportunities. Wang referenced President Xi Jinping’s visit to the Caribbean in 2013 when he acknowledged the region as an “important force in the international community”.
On the matter of economic and trade cooperation Vice Minister Wang stated “China-Caribbean cooperation has benefitted people on both sides. Today, we are gathering in Hainan—the forefront of China’s opening up—to deepen pragmatic, economic, and trade cooperation and promote the building of a closer China-Caribbean community with a shared future. The essence of [our] economic and trade cooperation is complementarity and mutual benefit.“
He continued “over the past 20 years, China-Caribbean trade has grown at an average annual rate of 13%, which is 3% higher than China’s overall foreign trade growth during the same period. Trade volumes have continued to grow. In 2023, trade between China and Caribbean countries reached US$11.8 billion, a ten-fold increase compared to 2003, before the forum was established.”
Ambassador Wayne McCook, CARICOM Assistant Secretary-General used his opening remarks to extend solidarity to the people and local government of Hainan on the damages inflicted by the recent passage of Typhoon H. which devasted the capital a few days prior. Ambassador McCook, spoke to the historical relations of the China-Caribbean relationships which span two centuries. He highlighted the commitments made at the first ministerial forum held in Jamaica in 2004 to build cooperation in human resources, tourism, transportation, agriculture & fisheries, and finance and the focus on investment cooperation with a US$1 billion commitment to the Caricom Development Fund alongside US$1 billion in soft loan to Caribbean countries. He highlighted additional areas of focus which included support for disaster prevention mitigation, strengthening cooperation in environment protection and new energies, and intensified health cooperation and cultural education.
Speaking on the current relationship he stated “new dimensions have been added to the China-Caribbean relationship and experience, China is a leading source of investment and development cooperation, and an important trading partner for the Caribbean. The Caribbean values China’s leadership in south-south cooperation.” He reinforced that the ministerial forum was a critical mechanism for collective engagement since its inauguration twenty years ago. Building on the previous areas, Ambassador Cook indicated that the Trinidad forum (2011) focused on investment cooperation with a US$1 billion commitment to the Caricom Development Fund alongside US$1 billion in soft loan to Caribbean countries. Additional areas of focus included support for disaster prevention mitigation, strengthening cooperation in environment protection and new energies, and intensified health cooperation and cultural education.
China’s Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs Hua Chunying said it was poetic that the forum was being held in Hainan, which boasts many geographic and tropical climatic similarities to the Caribbean. She stated “As China’s largest economic zone and the only free trade port with Chinese characteristics, Hainan is without doubt an ideal place for the forum. In the 1960s, we marked the beginning of diplomatic relations between China and Caribbean countries. Since then, for more than half a century, our relations have withstood the test of a changing international landscape and is brimming with vigour and vitality,” she explained.
Vice Minister Hua expressed confidence that the Forum would result in China and Caribbean countries unlocking “more cooperation potentials, find more common ground for cooperation and create more opportunities for China-Caribbean economic and trade cooperation moving forward.“
In his remarks during the Forum Antigua and Barbuda’s head of delegation, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Hon E. P. Chet Greene referred to China’s contribution to economic trade cooperation development among member states of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) as a “necessary“, and “requires innovative thinking to further strengthen our good efforts“. He stated “we have a shared vision for the prosperity of the Global South and seek to build a world where developing countries can thrive together. Our deliberations today should set the framework and understanding that China presents an opportunity to diversify its economic partners and help us as Caribbean states reduce dependence on traditional markets. We need to leverage China’s advancement in technologies to enhance local industries and boost local innovation and productivity. Our future and the sustainable growth of our Caribbean region [are] highly dependent on a developmental approach that is geared towards recognising the unique social and economic realities of our islands. It must be an approach that is people-focused and equitable.”
Since the inaugural 2004 forum in Kingston, China has spearheaded several large-scale infrastructural undertakings across the Caribbean including the upgrade and expansion of the Sir V. C. Bird International Airport and the infrastructure overhaul of the Antigua Port Authority in Antigua & Barbuda, The City Complex in The Bahamas, Sam Lord’s Castle Resorts in Barbados, and the floating dock in Havana Cuba. China also facilitated the construction of the International Airport in Dominica and the North-South Highway in Jamaica, among other projects in the region.
Included in the joint statement approved and issued at the end of the Forum was specific attention to the key partnership actions that guide China’s South-South development agenda. The Caribbean nations noted and valued the achievements of Chinese modernization and China expressed willingness to share with Caribbean countries the new development opportunities brought by this modernization. Further “we believe that the Belt and Road Initiative, the Global Development Initiative, and the Global Civilization Initiative offer extensive opportunities for enhancing economic and trade cooperation between China and Caribbean countries. We are prepared to continue collaboration to further advance the high-quality development of the Belt and Road Initiative, implement the Global Development Initiative, and to enhance practical cooperation between China and Caribbean countries, which contributes to the stable and sustainable development of China and Caribbean countries, and accelerates the achievement of the UN 2030 Sustainable Development Goals.”
The joint agreement also committed to further trade facilitation and liberalization and will strengthen cooperation “in sanitary and phytosanitary inspection and quarantine, medical and healthcare, tourism, e-commerce, standards and conformity assessment. Furthermore, we encourage trade promotion agencies and business associations from both sides to bolster collaboration to further facilitate unimpeded trade between China and Caribbean countries. We are committed to maintaining dialogue on China-Caribbean free trade cooperation.
The forum was attended by economic and trade ministers as well as ambassadors and high-ranking technocrats from China and 11 Caribbean nations—Antigua and Barbuda, The Bahamas, Barbados, Cuba, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Grenada, Guyana, Jamaica, Suriname, Trinidad and Tobago, and Haiti as an observer.
