DELAYS IN BUILDING OF NEW CHINESE EMBASSY AND

C O N F I D E N T I A L NASSAU 000413 SIPDIS SIPDIS STATE FOR WHA/CAR RCBUDDEN AND EAP/C E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/27/2017 TAGS: PREL PINR CH BF SUBJECT: DELAYS IN BUILDING OF NEW CHINESE EMBASSY AND DONATED STADIUM Classified By: Charge d'Affaires Brent Hardt for reasons 1.4(b) and (d) ¶1. (C) During Ambassador Rood's farewell call with Chinese Ambassador Li March 27, Poloff met with Dong Sheng, Cultural and Protocol Officer for the Chinese Embassy to The Bahamas. Asked about plans for a new Chinese embassy building in Nassau, Sheng said that a site had been purchased on Village Road, near the corner of Shirley Street, across from the Coldwell Banker offices. Sheng confirmed that architects had completed plans for the embassy, however, Sheng said that construction might not begin for "a couple of years," citing ongoing but unspecified delays in Beijing and the need for further negotiation with the Bahamian government. These comments are consistent with remarks made to Ambassador Rood by Ambassador Li during the farewell call. ¶2. (C) Sheng also discussed delays in starting construction of the $30 million stadium donated to The Bahamas, which has been on the drawing board since 2004. He said Chinese architects were in Nassau with a limited number of Chinese workers, but Sheng attributed construction delays to Bahamian sensitivities to the use of Chinese labor for the project. "We do not expect action before elections, because approval of a large number of Chinese workers would raise concerns," Sheng said. However, Sheng was concerned that delays threatened the deadlines in the stadium agreement, requiring additional negotiation with the Bahamian government. Sheng said that the Bahamian Attorney General's office is a bottleneck, delaying projects over unimportant issues. Echoing frustrations often voiced in our own Embassy, Sheng said, "it sometimes feels difficult to give The Bahamas money." ¶3. (C) Sheng also briefly discussed his embassy's relationship with Beijing. Sheng -- who is serving his first overseas tour after time as a "research analyst" in Beijing for the Bureau of European affairs -- expressed appreciation for China's limited goals in The Bahamas: "We have no reporting obligation to Beijing and don't need to prepare analytical pieces. Because The Bahamas is so small, we able to control our work without Beijing being closely involved." ¶4. (C) COMMENT: In light of discussions of Chinese labor for the stadium, and strong Bahamian preferences for use of Bahamian contractors, it is likely that the use of Chinese labor is also a sticking point with the new embassy. We have also heard from the Chinese that the Embassy project will be built by the same Chinese laborers who will be involved in the Stadium, most likely after the stadium's completion. However, Sheng's hints of hesitation in Beijing over the project, combined with his assertions of lack of serious Beijing interest in reporting from Nassau, if true, create questions about whether Beijing is fuly committed to further expanding its presence inNassau. Regardless of how debates over the use f Chinese labor resolve, Post takes consolation hat its long-felt frustrations with the Bahamian bueaucracy are shared by our diplomatic colleaguesfrom across the Pacific. HARDT