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| JOINT DECLARATION OF THE 2ND CHINA-CARIBBEAN ECONOMIC AND TRADE COOPERATION FORUM |
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| 2007-09-09 13:30 |
The 2nd China-Caribbean Economic and Trade Cooperation Forum (hereinafter referred to as the “Forum”) was held in Xiamen, the People’s Republic of China, from 7 to 8 September 2007.
Ministerial delegations from Antigua & Barbuda, the Commonwealth of the Bahamas, Barbados, the People’s Republic of China, the Republic of Cuba, the Commonwealth of Dominica, Grenada, the Republic of Guyana, the Republic of Suriname, and the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago were in attendance. The delegation of Jamaica was led by an Under Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade. Deputy Prime Minister of Barbados Madame Mia Mottley and Vice Premier of China Madame Wu Yi were also present at the Forum.
The Dominican Republic, the Republic of Haiti, St. Lucia as well as the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) Secretariat and the Caribbean Development Bank (CDB) were also represented at the Forum.
Forum Activities
The theme of the Forum was “Deepening Trade and Economic Cooperation and Realizing Common Development”. The Forum consisted of an Opening Ceremony; a Plenary Conference; a China-Caribbean Business conference and the 2nd Annual Meeting of China-Caribbean Business Council; two seminars on China-Caribbean Agriculture and Fishery Cooperation and on Tourism Cooperation; a Caribbean Day and a Photographic Exhibition on the Caribbean Investment Climate and China-Caribbean Trade and Economic Cooperation. The delegates also participated in the activities of the 11th China International Fair for Investment and Trade (CIFIT), where some Caribbean countries exhibited their featured investment projects and export commodities.
Delegates at the Forum commented positively on the follow-up implementation efforts since the last Forum. They expressed satisfaction with the progress and achievements between China and the Caribbean region in the fields of trade, investment, agriculture and fishery, tourism and transportation, finance and human resources development, and readiness to further explore potential for cooperation and pursue common development.
Economic and Technical Cooperation
China announced to intensify assistance to Caribbean countries in the next three years by:
(I) providing preferential loans worth of RMB 4 billion yuan to partner Caribbean countries for bilateral cooperation in infrastructure building, resource development, industrial and agricultural production, tourism and telecommunications;
(II) allocating a total quota of 2,000 trainees for Caribbean countries to assist in the training of government officials and technical professionals; and
(III) strengthening cooperation in agricultural production, education and healthcare, including the sending of agricultural experts, Mandarin teachers and medical teams to countries in need.
Trade
The Forum acknowledged that China-Caribbean bilateral trade had been growing rapidly in recent years, with strong prospects for further development. The Caribbean side welcomed the planned visit of several Chinese business missions organized by the Chinese Chambers of Commerce of Import and Export after the Forum. The Region believes these visits will allow the Chinese business persons to observe firsthand the trade and investment environment in the Caribbean region and facilitate the expansion of China-Caribbean bilateral trade.
China welcomed Caribbean businesses to participate in various important trade fairs held in China every year as well as the Commodities Fair for Latin American, Caribbean, Central and Eastern European Countries in Beijing sponsored by China’s Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM) scheduled to be held in November 2007.
Investments and Enterprises Cooperation
The Forum underlined the vital role of enterprises in enhancing bilateral trade and economic relations. To further cement China-Caribbean enterprise partnership, the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade (CCPIT) and the business associations of participating Caribbean countries signed the Xiamen Declaration by China-Caribbean Joint Business Council. The Investment Promotion Agency of MOFCOM signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) on investment promotion cooperation with the Jamaica Trade & Invest.
China and participating Caribbean countries all committed to further consolidating entrepreneurial partnership with regard to investment and mutually beneficial cooperation in agriculture and fishery, tourism, manufacturing, light industry, engineering, infrastructure and natural resource development.
Cooperation in Agriculture and Fishery
Government and business delegates at the Forum acknowledged the necessity of taking steps to further promote China-Caribbean cooperation in agriculture and fishery, to create positive conditions for the economic and social development of all participating countries.
Delegates shared experiences in agriculture and fishery development, engaged in fruitful discussion and reached consensus on China-Caribbean cooperation in crop and livestock production, farm machinery manufacturing, agricultural products processing, sharing and transfer of agricultural technology, germplasm resources exchange, aquaculture, and fishery resources development.
Cooperation in Tourism
Government and business delegates at the Forum acknowledged the strong potential for China-Caribbean tourism cooperation. Delegates shared their country-specific experience in tourism development and engaged in fruitful discussion on tourism cooperation.
With the recent signing of MOU between China and Suriname on the facilitation of Group Travel by Chinese Tourists to Suriname, all such MOUs between China and the Caribbean countries having diplomatic relations with China have been now concluded. China will actively encourage its citizens to choose the Caribbean as their travel destination.
Cooperation in Financial Sector
Financial institutions in China and the Caribbean expressed the desire to increase the sharing of information, expertise and experience and to further cement bilateral cooperation. At the Forum, the Development Bank of China and the Development Bank of Jamaica signed a development finance cooperation agreement.
Cooperation in Quality Inspection, Supervision and Quarantine
China welcomed cooperation with Caribbean countries in market access related quality inspection, supervision and quarantine. China will advance its collaboration and discussions on quality inspection, supervision and quarantine with a view to concluding cooperation agreements with Cuba and Jamaica as soon as possible.
On the 3rd Forum
The 3rd Forum will take place in the Caribbean. The host country and dates for the Forum are to be determined through further consultation between the two sides. |
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