Caribbean welcome for China's President Xi
Source: Agencies |
June 4, 2013, Tuesday
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Print Edition
Print Edition
CHINESE President Xi Jinping has offered concessionary loans to nine Caribbean countries totaling some US$3 billion.
Details of the offer were not immediately disclosed, but Trinidad and Tobago's Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar told reporters the loans would be earmarked for infrastructure and development projects across the Caribbean.
"We really welcomed that generosity," she said.
Xi arrived in Costa Rica yesterday morning (Beijing time) after a three-day stop in oil-rich, English-speaking Trinidad and Tobago, the first by a Chinese president.
He attended a welcoming ceremony hosted by Costa Rican counterpart Laura Chinchilla before they began talks on the development of bilateral ties.
The two presidents were also due to witness the signing of cooperation deals.
Xi and his wife Peng Liyuan were to travel to a rural village near the capital before attending a dinner hosted by Chinchilla.
The Chinese president focused on trade and energy issues in talks with Caribbean leaders.
"What I found so impressive in the president of China is that he treated the leaders of small Caribbean nations no differently to how he would treat the president of United States or Britain's leader," Bahamas Prime Minister Perry Christie said.
Jamaican Prime Minister Portia Simpson Miller expressed hope that "something happens, something positive, for our region" after Xi's visits.
China's growing interest in the region is "very constructive," said Dominica Prime Minister Roosevelt Skerrit.
"It's a signal to us in the Caribbean that China has been taking us seriously, they have responded to the solidarity we have expressed to them, particularly in the one China policy."
Christie also made a pitch for increasing tourism from China, and spoke to Xi about the need for direct flights to the Bahamas and relaxing visa requirements.
"China is an excellent place to look for tourists," said Christie, who said tourism was "the most effective and quickest way to generate economic activity."
Xi also met the leaders of Suriname, Guyana, Antigua and Barbuda, Grenada and Barbados.
Separately, Chinese Politburo member Guo Jinlong was on an official visit to nearby Cuba, an island Xi was not due to visit.
China signed seven agreements with Cuba to increase bilateral cooperation on trade, transport, tourism and biotechnology.
China is Cuba's second most important trade partner after Venezuela, and one of its main sources of credit.
Xi pledged to boost assistance to Caribbean nations, including sending 100 medical staff to the Caribbean region, training 100 part-time postgraduate students and providing scholarships for 1,000 students.
After Costa Rica, Xi will visit Mexico and the US.
Details of the offer were not immediately disclosed, but Trinidad and Tobago's Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar told reporters the loans would be earmarked for infrastructure and development projects across the Caribbean.
"We really welcomed that generosity," she said.
Xi arrived in Costa Rica yesterday morning (Beijing time) after a three-day stop in oil-rich, English-speaking Trinidad and Tobago, the first by a Chinese president.
He attended a welcoming ceremony hosted by Costa Rican counterpart Laura Chinchilla before they began talks on the development of bilateral ties.
The two presidents were also due to witness the signing of cooperation deals.
Xi and his wife Peng Liyuan were to travel to a rural village near the capital before attending a dinner hosted by Chinchilla.
The Chinese president focused on trade and energy issues in talks with Caribbean leaders.
"What I found so impressive in the president of China is that he treated the leaders of small Caribbean nations no differently to how he would treat the president of United States or Britain's leader," Bahamas Prime Minister Perry Christie said.
Jamaican Prime Minister Portia Simpson Miller expressed hope that "something happens, something positive, for our region" after Xi's visits.
China's growing interest in the region is "very constructive," said Dominica Prime Minister Roosevelt Skerrit.
"It's a signal to us in the Caribbean that China has been taking us seriously, they have responded to the solidarity we have expressed to them, particularly in the one China policy."
Christie also made a pitch for increasing tourism from China, and spoke to Xi about the need for direct flights to the Bahamas and relaxing visa requirements.
"China is an excellent place to look for tourists," said Christie, who said tourism was "the most effective and quickest way to generate economic activity."
Xi also met the leaders of Suriname, Guyana, Antigua and Barbuda, Grenada and Barbados.
Separately, Chinese Politburo member Guo Jinlong was on an official visit to nearby Cuba, an island Xi was not due to visit.
China signed seven agreements with Cuba to increase bilateral cooperation on trade, transport, tourism and biotechnology.
China is Cuba's second most important trade partner after Venezuela, and one of its main sources of credit.
Xi pledged to boost assistance to Caribbean nations, including sending 100 medical staff to the Caribbean region, training 100 part-time postgraduate students and providing scholarships for 1,000 students.
After Costa Rica, Xi will visit Mexico and the US.
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