Members of the Caribbean delegation and their Chinese counterparts
A contingent of representatives from four of the Region’s Business Support Organisations (BSOs) participated in the Eighth China-LAC Business Summit in Changsha, September 12-13, supported by the Caribbean Export Development Agency (Caribbean Export). The Summit is the promotion mechanism and platform of economic and trade cooperation between China and Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC).
The mission to China, led by Donville Inniss, Minister of Industry, International Business, Commerce and Small Business Development for Barbados, sought to build relations, discover new potential trading partners and promote the Caribbean for viable investment opportunities.
Speaking at the China-LAC Summit, Minister Inniss noted that the areas for future cooperation between China and the Caribbean included financial services, logistics, tourism and hotel development, agribusiness and infrastructure development.
The participation of these BSOs – JAMPRO, InvestSVG, the Barbados Chamber of Commerce and Industry and the Chamber of Commerce of Haiti, is an important step towards not only strengthening the capacity of the BSOs to understand the Chinese market but also to enable the BSOs to work with the Region’s private sector to strategically target and penetrate the Chinese market for exports and investments.
Increased access
The Caribbean delegates also took the opportunity to further discussions with the Tianjin authorities and business groups on investment and prospects for future trading relations. Meetings with the China Ministry of Commerce, and in particular the International Trade Development Bureau, enabled the discussion on the support that could be offered to the Caribbean allowing for increased access of Caribbean products into the Chinese market. In addition, talks with the China Development Bank led to enlightenment as to how the Caribbean could access available resources in China earmarked for infrastructure development, as well as commercially viable projects in the Caribbean.
Another key meeting that was held during the mission was with ChinaGoAbroad whose members-only platform provides information and connections for Chinese companies as well as their global counterparts seeking international business partners, investment opportunities and joint ventures in a variety of sectors. Future collaboration with these partners will be led by Caribbean Export as the Agency seeks to strategically position the Region for trade and investments from China. Caribbean Export is a regional export development and trade and investment promotion organisation of the Forum of Caribbean States (CARIFORUM) currently executing the Regional Private Sector Programme (RPSDP) funded by the European Union under the 10th European Development Fund (EDF). Caribbean Export’s mission is to increase the competitiveness of Caribbean countries by providing quality export development and trade and investment promotion services through effective programme execution and strategic alliances.
The China-LAC Business Summit is managed by the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade (CCPIT). The event promotes policy dialogue at the Government level, but also promotes Chinese investments in Latin American and Caribbean markets.