Ambassador praises partnership between T&T, China

Trinidad and Tobago has been lauded as an ideal environment for the continued promotion and growth of Chinese businesses.

The praise came as the number of exports to China continue to increase.

The message was delivered by the country’s delegation that attended the 4th China–Caribbean Economic and Trade Cooperation Forum at China’s island province of Hainan over the weekend.

Speaking at the three-day meeting event, T&T Ambassador to the People’s Republic of China, Analisa Low, boasted that T&T was the first English-speaking Caribbean country to join China’s Belt and Road Initiative, which led to an increase in exports to China.

“Trinidad and Tobago’s exports to China grew by 60 per cent, moving from approximately TT$1 billion to TT$1.6 billion. These exports included energy and non-energy products, methanol, aromatic bitters, natural asphalt and seafood products,” Low said.

Low added that for the same period, imports from China increased by 6.9 per cent to TT$5 billion.

The ongoing construction of a new terminal at the ANR Robinson International Airport by China Railway Construction Caribbean Limited was also highlighted by Low as part of China’s commitment to supporting T&T’s economic growth.

Earlier this year, the Government of Trinidad and Tobago inaugurated the Phoenix Park Industrial Estate, which InvestTT president Sekou Alleyne said has drawn interest from Chinese and Hainan companies looking to utilise the facility.

“That creates a model of T&T’s cooperation economically with China and the platform for further attracting new businesses from China, which is what we are doing here today, [from] different parts of China coming to use T&T as a platform for their expansion in the Latin America and Caribbean area,” Alleyne said.

Following the forum’s ministerial conference, China pledged to continue to support free trade cooperation with Caribbean countries.

The post Ambassador praises partnership between T&T, China first appeared on CNC3.