China Caribbean Signing Promises Regional Opportunities

August 5 marked the historic signing of an Agreement of Co-operation between Caribbean Export Development Agency (Caribbean Export) and the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade (CCPIT), a relationship which promises increased business opportunities for Caribbean businesses.

During the signing at the Barbados Hilton which was witnessed by representatives of regional trade agencies and government ministries, the audience heard from Caribbean Export’s Executive Director, Philip Williams, that “this is an important first step to developing a process for regular exchange of information and specific trade and investment promotion activities.”

Williams explained: “We have already started to map out a programme of research, business meetings and promotional activities, which we hope to further expand on and implement in the coming months. We hope to work with the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade (CCPIT) and a regional member state, not yet identified, to organize the 3rd China-Caribbean Business Forum in 2010.”

CCPIT, which is considered the most important foreign trade body in China, approached Caribbean Export to host the meeting, which Williams sees as a positive step especially for small nations such as those in the Caribbean.

“We are very aware of the challenges of small countries seeking to do business with a large country like China,” he admitted, but added, “China also has many small companies (and) as members of the CSME, recent signatories of the Economic Partnership Agreement and with geographical proximity to both North and South America, the Region offers access to large markets, some on our doorstep.”

The Caribbean region has been engaging in trade relations with China for several years and the Agreement of Co-operation is seen as another positive and necessary step for trade during this time of global recession.

Vice Chairman of CCPIT, Songgen Dong, stated that China is importing more from the Caribbean and therefore more opportunities will be provided for Caribbean nations. According to the vice chairman, in 2007 there were more than 7,000 Chinese investors in the Caribbean region and last year China Caribbean trade earned China US$6.2 Billion, a seven per cent increase from the previous year. To date, Chinese investment in the Caribbean stands at US$118 Billion.

For further information on the Conference click the link below:

Conference - China-Caribbean Business Dialogue