President Jagdeo calls on Caribbean leaders pursue partial scope agreement with China
-as Guyana, China ink 30M RMB accord for development projects
Georgetown, GINA, September 12, 2011
Source - GINA
President Bharrat Jagdeo speaking at the 3rd China Caribbean Business Conference in Trinidad and Tobago
Guyana and China today inked a 30 million RMB grant agreement that would see funding for a number of projects still to be decided on. Finance Minister Dr. Ashni Singh signed the agreement on Guyana’s behalf, while Minister of Commerce of China, Chen Deming signed on behalf of his country. The signing took place at the Business Conference of the third China-Caribbean Economic and Trade Cooperation Forum, ‘Development Cooperation and Win for all’ in Port-of-Spain Trinidad and Tobago.
Guyana is represented at the forum by a delegation of Government Ministers, lead by President Bharrat Jagdeo. There are also 30 local business executives in attendance.
President Jagdeo speaking at the forum, called on the Caribbean as a collective group to pursue a non-reciprocal trade agreement or a partial scope agreement with China, similar to the one that exists between Guyana and Brazil. Addressing the conference at the Hyatt Regency Hotel in Port-of-Spain Trinidad, he told the scores of government and business leaders that because of the small size of regional economies combined in relation to that of the Asian economic giant, the top 30 or 40 export commodities of the region could be given an ease from attracting duty on import into China. He said this would have a minimal effect on China but will generate significant wealth in the region because of economic size.
President Jagdeo cautioned those gathered against the expectation that the two-day forum will provide the solutions the region seeks, warning participants not to get caught up in rhetoric without tangible results. He called for a trade regime that would encourage value-added activity in the region, which he posited will narrow the trade gap that exists between China and the Caribbean.
Several key issues must be identified, he said, and then by timetable, all must work to ensure that they are implemented and practical changes are made visible before the time of the fourth economic forum in four years. President Jagdeo urged too, that more practical results be sought. He said the forum is merely a catalyst of what is to be achieved and there must be a structured engagement with China moving forward. He also urged regional governments to ensure that such an agreement is driven by private enterprise.
President Jagdeo said over the past two decades bilateral trade between the Caribbean and China has grown a hundred fold, from US$20 million in 1990 to US$2 billion in 2008.
“In the last ten years, China’s exports have consistently accounted for more than 70% of total trade. In 2008, 93% of Caribbean-China trade consisted of China’s exports to the Region. The region itself exported significantly (over US$60 million in goods) to China in that year. China has a growing demand for the Region’s raw materials (i.e., gas and asphalt in Trinidad and Tobago, bauxite in Jamaica and timber, bauxite and minerals in Guyana). In addition, Chinese companies have used the Bahamas’ close geographic proximity to the United States to manufacture and assemble products destined for the United States market, and to invest in the service sector such as tourism,” President Jagdeo said.
This Forum he said was convened at a time when the global economy is undergoing unprecedented structural changes with significant realignment in global economic influence, not least as a result of the traumatic recent global economic crisis. “While the developed economies continue to wrestle with the challenges of simultaneously implementing fiscal stimuli to resume growth and pursuing fiscal consolidation to achieve debt sustainability, much of the global growth currently being recorded is being driven by buoyant economic activity in emerging markets,” he noted.
President Jagdeo said, much of the long - term growth in global demand in the commodity markets will come from the Asian country and that China’s role in the global financial marketplace as a portfolio investor and as a source of foreign direct investment will increase considerably, along with demand for goods and services by increasingly affluent Chinese corporate and household consumers.
“These are the realities that will shape the future of the world economy, and they must inevitably be taken into account as we in the Caribbean define our own domestic and collective regional strategies for growth and development.”
In defining the relationship going forward, the Guyanese Head of State said that, “The opportunity we must seize now is one that goes considerably beyond merely forging business relationships and concluding business agreements and transactions for today. The opportunity before us is also to forge a model for long term mutual beneficial engagement between a large global economic giant on the one hand, and some of the world’s smallest and most vulnerable states on the other hand, based on a close alignment of shared interests and built on reciprocal respect and warm friendship.”
He spoke of several other advantages that the Caribbean has and that can and should be mobilised to advance shared goals. These he noted are: geographic location that provides certain natural advantages for Chinese companies seeking to establish a base to serve any part of the Americas and even Europe; the rich natural resources that remain for the greater part untapped on any significant scale; the regulatory and operating environment is attractive, and the region’s fiscal incentives regimes are competitive and non-discriminatory, with a clear policy to welcome investors from overseas.
President Jagdeo believes that much of China’s engagement with the region has been government to government and as such grants and soft loans are given to governments.
“How could we get some of this wealth to go to private companies?” he asked.
He called for a lending mechanism that keeps the Chinese money safe but finds its way into the hands of the private sector, particularly in an environment where the cost of capital is very high. He said if the framework is fixed this can be achieved. President Jagdeo referred to countries such as those in the region as policy takers.
He pointed to the imbalance in the decision-making and governance structure of the International Financial Institutions in which the regional states have very little say; hence the reliance on the emergence of China and others is necessary. This can be turned around with emerging economies having a greater say at the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank. President Jagdeo said such emerging economic super powers can create policies that are more sympathetic to developing states.
The Guyanese Head of State, much to the delight of those gathered, stated that the pursuit of increased trade with emerging economic giants such as India, Brazil, Russia and China is integral to the future development of the Caribbean. He noted that, “we in this region, have warmly embraced China’s rise in the world. I say this largely because this situation is not mirrored in the developed countries of the world”.
The Head-of-State noted the region is not wary of China’s rise and looks forward to its continued growth as he insisted that China’s development is critical to that of the people of the Caribbean. He believes that it will also serve to break the traditional hold that known economic powers have on countries such as those in the Caribbean.
President Jagdeo believes that China has dispelled the perception that the engine of global growth lies with northern countries. Commodity-based economies are thriving largely because of China’s demand for resources.
“It has been a significant shift in global paradigm and that lesson should not be lost,” the President added.
He expressed that the hope that the business conference would serve to demonstrate that the Chinese government itself has sent a clear signal that the Caribbean is important to its national security, both political and economic, given the partnership between private companies and the government in China. He also called for the forum to be used for a better understanding of the way that China works.
Guyana’s high-level team at the forum includes Agriculture Minister, Robert Persaud; Transport and Hydraulics Minister, Robeson Benn; Foreign Affairs Minister, Carolyn Rodrigues-Birkett; Tourism, Industry and Commerce Minister, Manniram Prashad; Culture, Youth and Sport Minister, Dr. Frank Anthony; Finance Minister, Dr. Ashni Singh and Director General in the Ministry of Foreign affairs, Ambassador Elisabeth Harper.
Dr. Ashni Singh in an invited comment noted that the global economy has been going through very significant structural changes piloted by new drivers of global growth. He said, “Increasingly what we see is Chinese companies having grown rapidly as they have driven by the domestic growth they have enjoyed and looking increasingly for a global presence. We see Chinese companies looking for investment opportunities throughout the world; we see that happening in the Caribbean, Latin America, Africa and elsewhere.”
He posited that this forum will significantly contribute to the growth of CARICOM economies. “Guyana of course has the distinction of being the first Caribbean country to establish formal diplomatic relations with China and we have over the years had strong and friendly relations. There are a number of Chinese companies that have done business with Guyanese companies and we expect that this forum will provide a very important occasion through which the bilateral ties between our countries can perhaps be strengthened further through which business opportunities can be explored by Chinese businesses and their counterparts in Guyana,” he noted.
China is the third largest Latin America and the Caribbean’s direct investor, accounting for 9% of Foreign Direct Investment in the region, and the value of China's trade with the Caribbean and Latin America is approaching US$156 billion.
-as Guyana, China ink 30M RMB accord for development projects
Georgetown, GINA, September 12, 2011
Source - GINA
President Bharrat Jagdeo speaking at the 3rd China Caribbean Business Conference in Trinidad and TobagoGuyana and China today inked a 30 million RMB grant agreement that would see funding for a number of projects still to be decided on. Finance Minister Dr. Ashni Singh signed the agreement on Guyana’s behalf, while Minister of Commerce of China, Chen Deming signed on behalf of his country. The signing took place at the Business Conference of the third China-Caribbean Economic and Trade Cooperation Forum, ‘Development Cooperation and Win for all’ in Port-of-Spain Trinidad and Tobago.
Guyana is represented at the forum by a delegation of Government Ministers, lead by President Bharrat Jagdeo. There are also 30 local business executives in attendance.
President Jagdeo speaking at the forum, called on the Caribbean as a collective group to pursue a non-reciprocal trade agreement or a partial scope agreement with China, similar to the one that exists between Guyana and Brazil. Addressing the conference at the Hyatt Regency Hotel in Port-of-Spain Trinidad, he told the scores of government and business leaders that because of the small size of regional economies combined in relation to that of the Asian economic giant, the top 30 or 40 export commodities of the region could be given an ease from attracting duty on import into China. He said this would have a minimal effect on China but will generate significant wealth in the region because of economic size.
President Jagdeo cautioned those gathered against the expectation that the two-day forum will provide the solutions the region seeks, warning participants not to get caught up in rhetoric without tangible results. He called for a trade regime that would encourage value-added activity in the region, which he posited will narrow the trade gap that exists between China and the Caribbean.Several key issues must be identified, he said, and then by timetable, all must work to ensure that they are implemented and practical changes are made visible before the time of the fourth economic forum in four years. President Jagdeo urged too, that more practical results be sought. He said the forum is merely a catalyst of what is to be achieved and there must be a structured engagement with China moving forward. He also urged regional governments to ensure that such an agreement is driven by private enterprise.
President Jagdeo said over the past two decades bilateral trade between the Caribbean and China has grown a hundred fold, from US$20 million in 1990 to US$2 billion in 2008.“In the last ten years, China’s exports have consistently accounted for more than 70% of total trade. In 2008, 93% of Caribbean-China trade consisted of China’s exports to the Region. The region itself exported significantly (over US$60 million in goods) to China in that year. China has a growing demand for the Region’s raw materials (i.e., gas and asphalt in Trinidad and Tobago, bauxite in Jamaica and timber, bauxite and minerals in Guyana). In addition, Chinese companies have used the Bahamas’ close geographic proximity to the United States to manufacture and assemble products destined for the United States market, and to invest in the service sector such as tourism,” President Jagdeo said.
This Forum he said was convened at a time when the global economy is undergoing unprecedented structural changes with significant realignment in global economic influence, not least as a result of the traumatic recent global economic crisis. “While the developed economies continue to wrestle with the challenges of simultaneously implementing fiscal stimuli to resume growth and pursuing fiscal consolidation to achieve debt sustainability, much of the global growth currently being recorded is being driven by buoyant economic activity in emerging markets,” he noted.
President Jagdeo said, much of the long - term growth in global demand in the commodity markets will come from the Asian country and that China’s role in the global financial marketplace as a portfolio investor and as a source of foreign direct investment will increase considerably, along with demand for goods and services by increasingly affluent Chinese corporate and household consumers.“These are the realities that will shape the future of the world economy, and they must inevitably be taken into account as we in the Caribbean define our own domestic and collective regional strategies for growth and development.”
In defining the relationship going forward, the Guyanese Head of State said that, “The opportunity we must seize now is one that goes considerably beyond merely forging business relationships and concluding business agreements and transactions for today. The opportunity before us is also to forge a model for long term mutual beneficial engagement between a large global economic giant on the one hand, and some of the world’s smallest and most vulnerable states on the other hand, based on a close alignment of shared interests and built on reciprocal respect and warm friendship.”
He spoke of several other advantages that the Caribbean has and that can and should be mobilised to advance shared goals. These he noted are: geographic location that provides certain natural advantages for Chinese companies seeking to establish a base to serve any part of the Americas and even Europe; the rich natural resources that remain for the greater part untapped on any significant scale; the regulatory and operating environment is attractive, and the region’s fiscal incentives regimes are competitive and non-discriminatory, with a clear policy to welcome investors from overseas.President Jagdeo believes that much of China’s engagement with the region has been government to government and as such grants and soft loans are given to governments.
“How could we get some of this wealth to go to private companies?” he asked.
He called for a lending mechanism that keeps the Chinese money safe but finds its way into the hands of the private sector, particularly in an environment where the cost of capital is very high. He said if the framework is fixed this can be achieved. President Jagdeo referred to countries such as those in the region as policy takers.
He pointed to the imbalance in the decision-making and governance structure of the International Financial Institutions in which the regional states have very little say; hence the reliance on the emergence of China and others is necessary. This can be turned around with emerging economies having a greater say at the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank. President Jagdeo said such emerging economic super powers can create policies that are more sympathetic to developing states.
The Guyanese Head of State, much to the delight of those gathered, stated that the pursuit of increased trade with emerging economic giants such as India, Brazil, Russia and China is integral to the future development of the Caribbean. He noted that, “we in this region, have warmly embraced China’s rise in the world. I say this largely because this situation is not mirrored in the developed countries of the world”.
The Head-of-State noted the region is not wary of China’s rise and looks forward to its continued growth as he insisted that China’s development is critical to that of the people of the Caribbean. He believes that it will also serve to break the traditional hold that known economic powers have on countries such as those in the Caribbean.
President Jagdeo believes that China has dispelled the perception that the engine of global growth lies with northern countries. Commodity-based economies are thriving largely because of China’s demand for resources.
“It has been a significant shift in global paradigm and that lesson should not be lost,” the President added.
He expressed that the hope that the business conference would serve to demonstrate that the Chinese government itself has sent a clear signal that the Caribbean is important to its national security, both political and economic, given the partnership between private companies and the government in China. He also called for the forum to be used for a better understanding of the way that China works.
Guyana’s high-level team at the forum includes Agriculture Minister, Robert Persaud; Transport and Hydraulics Minister, Robeson Benn; Foreign Affairs Minister, Carolyn Rodrigues-Birkett; Tourism, Industry and Commerce Minister, Manniram Prashad; Culture, Youth and Sport Minister, Dr. Frank Anthony; Finance Minister, Dr. Ashni Singh and Director General in the Ministry of Foreign affairs, Ambassador Elisabeth Harper.
Dr. Ashni Singh in an invited comment noted that the global economy has been going through very significant structural changes piloted by new drivers of global growth. He said, “Increasingly what we see is Chinese companies having grown rapidly as they have driven by the domestic growth they have enjoyed and looking increasingly for a global presence. We see Chinese companies looking for investment opportunities throughout the world; we see that happening in the Caribbean, Latin America, Africa and elsewhere.”
He posited that this forum will significantly contribute to the growth of CARICOM economies. “Guyana of course has the distinction of being the first Caribbean country to establish formal diplomatic relations with China and we have over the years had strong and friendly relations. There are a number of Chinese companies that have done business with Guyanese companies and we expect that this forum will provide a very important occasion through which the bilateral ties between our countries can perhaps be strengthened further through which business opportunities can be explored by Chinese businesses and their counterparts in Guyana,” he noted.
China is the third largest Latin America and the Caribbean’s direct investor, accounting for 9% of Foreign Direct Investment in the region, and the value of China's trade with the Caribbean and Latin America is approaching US$156 billion.
