‘Stop vilifying China’

The Chinese Government has fired back at the Trump administration over its “predatory practices” claim, calling it the United States’ (US) attempt to spread disinformation and sow discord in its relationships with other countries.

“The so-called China’s predatory practices in the Caribbean region and the relevant accusations are sheer smear and vilification,” a spokesperson from the Chinese Embassy in Kingston said in an emailed response to questions posed by The Sunday Gleaner.

The spokesperson asserted that China’s cooperation with Latin American and Caribbean (LAC) countries is South-South cooperation, arguing that China has always carried out investment and financing cooperation with developing countries based on the principle of openness and transparency.

The embassy representative said China acts in accordance with the laws of the market and international rules and respects the will of partner countries in the region, further adding that this cooperation has greatly boosted economic development, improved people’s livelihood, and delivered tangibly to citizens.

The response came a day after United States Secretary of State Marco Rubio ended his two-day visit to the Caribbean where he made stops in Jamaica, Guyana and Suriname.

US’s problem is not

with its investments

Last Wednesday, while at a joint press conference with Prime Minister Dr Andrew Holness in St Andrew, Rubio, who described China as a rich and powerful country, said the US’s problem is not with its investments but with “predatory practices”.

“What we have seen all over the world is that China comes in and says ‘Here’s a bunch of money’ for a project they never build. They bring their own workers to do work. They don’t hire the locals. They bring their own workers and oftentimes it comes attached with a huge loan that can never be repaid and now they hold it over your head forever,” Rubio said.

“That’s our concern. Our concern is unfair practices where they come in, their government-subsidised companies underbid everybody because they are subsidised. But then they come back and charge you whatever they want because now they’ve got the contract. So, these are the things that we remain very concerned about and not specifically about Jamaica but in general,” the US’s top diplomat said.

He said the US will continue to highlight this.

His statement forms part of a broader effort by the US to counter China’s growing presence in the region which it considers its third border – key to its maritime and wider security in general.

However, on Friday, China hit back, declaring that the US’s alleged effort to tarnish its country will fail.

“The US spreads the disinformation to sow discord between China and other countries. Such malicious attempt will never succeed. The world can see clearly who exactly is being coercive and predatory. We urge the US to reflect on what it has done to developing countries in Latin America and the Caribbean through bullying and predatory behaviour, and stop vilifying China,” the spokesperson countered.

According to the spokesperson, there is only mutual support in the cooperation between China and LAC countries and no geopolitical calculations.

The spokesperson said that, in its engagement with LAC countries, China follows the principles of equality and mutual benefit, and never seeks sphere of influence or targets any party.

Peaceful coexistence and

win-win cooperation

“Actually, in handling China-US relations, the fundamental principles that we follow are mutual respect, peaceful coexistence and win-win cooperation. It is wrong to view China, which is committed to peaceful development, as a threat and thus play a zero-sum game against it. China never bets against the US, and has no intention to challenge the US or to unseat it,” the spokesperson said.

China has often argued that, through its 2013 Belt and Road Initiative, it seeks to boost economic development in regions by building infrastructure which include highways, railways, ports, and energy projects while fostering partnerships through investment and trade.

Some trillions of dollars have been poured into the initiative with backers calling it a win-win for the economies of developing countries like Jamaica while opening markets for Chinese goods.

However, countries like the US have often railed against China’s push, raising suspicion of a geopolitical power play.

Rubio’s latest comment casts the initiative as ‘debt-trap diplomacy’ with countries like Sri Lanka and Zambia struggling to repay loans, giving up key assets to China as a result.

Quizzed by T he Sunday Gleaner on whether there is any truth to Rubio’s claim, the embassy spokesperson said the “facts and truth will prevail”.

“We believe every ordinary Jamaican can refute these accusations with what they see with their own eyes. For the 20-something years of business in Jamaica, Chinese companies have invested greatly in infrastructure construction, ICT, agriculture, and mining.

“A lot of landmark projects have been built, such as the North-South Highway, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade Building, the Chinese Garden in the Hope Gardens, etc, and even more are near completion, such as the Southern Coastal Highway Improvement Project and the Western Children and Adolescents Hospital. These projects all bring tangible benefits to the Jamaican society,” the spokesperson said.

Rubbishing the ‘debt trap’ claims, the spokesperson said both Holness and Foreign Affairs Minister Senator Kamina Johnson Smith have noted Jamaica’s debt to China is approximately four per cent of its overall debt stock.

With Jamaica’s total debt being approximately $2 trillion dollars, approximately $80 billion is owed to China.

“These facts show that the so-called Chinese debt trap is not only pure disinformation, but also a narrative trap created by those who do not hope to see China’s international cooperation pick up speed,” the spokesperson said.

kimone.francis@gleanerjm.com