TT and China have had a long history and bilateral relations.
Chinese ambassador Fang Qiu in an interview with Business Day, discussed several matters about the two countries co-operation. Among those included recovery from the covid19 pandemic, trade and investment, the ease of doing business and the negative impact of the ongoing Russia/Ukraine war.
Most notably is China’s interest in TT through its Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) which has been expanded to the region.
Qui said the under the BRI framework, more co-operation and socio-economic development are expected in areas of agriculture, green energy, digital economy and information, communication and technology.
China was TT’s second-largest trading partner last year, he said with a total trade volume of US$1.1 billion and export to China reached US$647 million.
Qui expected these figures to grow exponentially when the Phoenix Park Industrial Estate begins operations.
Ambassador, how do you evaluate the development of China-TT relations?
China and TT are true friends, and now the Sino-TT relation is in its best times in the history. I would like to recall the historical visit of Chinese President Xi Jinping to TT in 2013, during which he said good friends feel close to each other even when they are thousands of miles away. Although separated by vast oceans, the two peoples constantly enjoy a profound traditional friendship, which has always been based on historical bond and a shared value of mutual respect, equity, and win-win co-operation. The two countries can always count on each other on issues concerning our respective core interests and matters of major concern.
[caption id="attachment_960100" align="alignnone" width="1009"] Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary Fang Qiu. - Photo courtesy Chinese Embassy[/caption]
Last year, President Xi Jinping had a phone conversation with Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley and reached extensive consensus on further deepening our practical co-operation in various fields, which ushered in a new chapter of our bilateral relations. In the wake of the covid19 pandemic, China and TT have been reaching out to each other with a helping hand and fighting against the virus shoulder to shoulder. It is a vivid manifestation of our strong bond of amity and has in turn further strengthened our time-honoured friendship.
Countless examples of the excellent relations between China and TT are to be listed. As the Ambassador of China to TT, I would devote all of myself to the development of this relationship which has been cherished for centuries, fully implement the important consensus reached by our leaders and bring more tangible outcomes to our peoples with the view of building a community of shared future.
When it comes to the practical co-operation, under the circumstances of the covid19 pandemic, what are some areas of co-operation China is looking forward to with TT?
Practical co-operation between the two countries has been progressing smoothly with fruitful outcomes following the direction s
