Chinas co-operation with Jamaica transparent, says ambassador

CHINESE Ambassador of Jamaica Chen Jinghua says his country has no ulterior motives for pumping billions of dollars in Jamaica's economy.

The ambassador yesterday said that he had heard good and bad comments about China's intention, but maintained that solidarity and co-operation with developing countries formed the very basis of China's foreign policy.

The ambassador's comments came in the wake of the recent controversy surrounding the China-funded Jamaica Development Infrastructure Programme (JDIP) road rehabilitation project, over which members of the Opposition People's National Party have accused the Government of being partisan in its selection of roads for repairs under the project.

"We are proud to say that China's co-operation with Jamaica is transparent and China pursues no hidden agenda," Jinghua told delegates at yesterday's opening of the China Harbour Engineering Conference at the Wyndham Hotel in Kingston.

The two-day event is being hosted by China Harbour Engineering Company (CHEC), the company undertaking rehabilitation work on the Palisadoes road and shoreline.

Noting that neo-colonialism is never a tag to be put on China, the ambassador said, "We will never follow the old path of colonialism or imperialism since we have no such policy or desire, nor is it ever in our tradition or genes to do so."

He reiterated that his country has always offered sincere and friendly assistance to Jamaica and never attached any political conditionality to such assistance.

He explained that China agreed to arrange special preferential export buyer's credits to Jamaica to implement the Palisadoes and national road network projects.

The five-year JDIP programme is funded by a loan of $36 billion secured by the Road Maintenance Fund from the Export/Import Bank of China while the Palisadoes work is funded by $4.97 billion from the same entity.

"We have always given full respect to the sovereignty and development paths of Jamaica and never interfered in its internal affairs," the Chinese ambassador added.

In his address, Transport and Works Minister Mike Henry reiterated that Jamaicans will form the major part of the workforce for the projects.

He said that from the outset it was decided that local labour would get priority.

"Indeed one of the discussions that we had with China Harbour was to reduce the labour that would come with the project and the only labour they would bring is that which we really fail to have," Henry said

He explained further that the company will also use the grade one contractors in Jamaica, which include engineers.

Meanwhile, Henry said that CHEC will be working with the National Works Agency to establish a lab facility for testing of roads that will strengthen the local agency's knowledge.

"We hope that at the end of the exercise we will be offering that service to the world," he said.

Zhongdong Tang, general manager of CHEC Latin America, said the seminar comes at a most opportune time at the commencement of the JDIP and the landmark Palisadoes road work.

"The seminar is being staged to provide a forum whereby our Chinese engineers and the Jamaican engineers can exchange civil engineering knowledge and experience," he said.

The seminar, he added, is poised to cement a long-term professional relationship between CHEC's engineers and those at the ministry of transport and works and the National Works Agency.

He announced also that next year CHEC would be bringing experts from China to provide advanced training to local engineers.