Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
10KINGSTON214
2010-02-10 20:41:00
UNCLASSIFIED
Embassy Kingston
Cable title:  

JAMAICA LOOKS TO THE EAST

Tags:  BTIO BEXP ECIN ECON EAIR EIND EINV EMIN ETRD ELTN 
pdf how-to read a cable
VZCZCXYZ0000
OO RUEHWEB

DE RUEHKG #0214/01 0412042
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
O 102041Z FEB 10
FM AMEMBASSY KINGSTON
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 0686
INFO EC CARICOM COLLECTIVE IMMEDIATE
RUCPDOC/DEPT OF COMMERCE WASHINGTON DC IMMEDIATE
RUEATRS/DEPT OF TREASURY WASHINGTON DC IMMEDIATE
RUEHBJ/AMEMBASSY BEIJING IMMEDIATE 0010
RUEHLO/AMEMBASSY LONDON IMMEDIATE 0168
RUEHOT/AMEMBASSY OTTAWA IMMEDIATE
RUEHCV/AMEMBASSY CARACAS
RUEHUB/USINT HAVANA 0010
UNCLAS KINGSTON 000214 

SIPDIS
STATE FOR WHA/CAR (VDEPIRRO) (WSMITH) (JMACK-WILSON)
WHA/EPSC (MROONEY) (FCORNEILLE)
JUSTICE FOR OIA (PPETTY)
DEPT FOR HAITI EARTHQUAKE TASK FORCE
USAID/W FOR DCHA/OFDA
WHA/CAR
SAN JOSE FOR OFDA
PANAMA FOR DR. BAYUK

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: BTIO BEXP ECIN ECON EAIR EIND EINV EMIN ETRD ELTN
AORC, OVIP, PREL, EAID, JM, XL, CH, CU, VE, HA
SUBJECT: JAMAICA LOOKS TO THE EAST

REF: KINGSTON 126

Summary

------------



UNCLAS KINGSTON 000214

SIPDIS
STATE FOR WHA/CAR (VDEPIRRO) (WSMITH) (JMACK-WILSON)
WHA/EPSC (MROONEY) (FCORNEILLE)
JUSTICE FOR OIA (PPETTY)
DEPT FOR HAITI EARTHQUAKE TASK FORCE
USAID/W FOR DCHA/OFDA
WHA/CAR
SAN JOSE FOR OFDA
PANAMA FOR DR. BAYUK

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: BTIO BEXP ECIN ECON EAIR EIND EINV EMIN ETRD ELTN
AORC, OVIP, PREL, EAID, JM, XL, CH, CU, VE, HA
SUBJECT: JAMAICA LOOKS TO THE EAST

REF: KINGSTON 126

Summary

--------------




1. (SBU) Jamaica's relationship with China has continued to blossom
after Prime Minister (PM) Bruce Golding led a delegation to Beijing
from January 30 to February 6 (Reftel A). The delegation, which
also included three government ministers as well as several public
sector officials, discussed a number of bilateral issues, including
financial assistance and investment projects. The trip was at the
invitation of the Government of China (GOC) and follows a visit to
Jamaica by GOC Vice President Xi Jinping in 2009. Golding's trip
also follows closely on the heels of a visit to China by the
Opposition Peoples' National Party (PNP) in late 2009. Both
countries have signed agreements valued at more than USD 500
million for infrastructure projects. This marks an intensification
of the relationship, which has seen the GOC provide Jamaica with a
number of grants and concessionary loans, and signals a continuing
reorientation of the GOJ's foreign policy under the Jamaica Labour
Party (JLP) administration. Nevertheless, Post considers the GOJ's
overtures toward China and Venezuela to be more pragmatic than

ideological in nature. End Summary.



Golding Leads High Level Delegation

-------------- ---




2. (SBU) Jamaica's relationship with China has started to flourish
with the PM leading his first delegation to Beijing. The trip,
which ran from January 30 to February 6, was at the invitation of
the GOC and followed a visit to Jamaica by GOC Vice President Xi
Jinping in 2009. The Jamaican delegation included: Deputy Prime
Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade Kenneth
Baugh; Minister of Transport and Works Michael Henry; Minister of
Investment and Commerce Karl Samuda; as well as several public
sector officials.




3. (SBU) During his visit, Golding paid a courtesy call on GOC
President Hu Jintao and held meetings with Vice President Xi
Jinping and Premier Wen Jiabao as well as the Chairman of the China
National Development Bank and the President of the Export-Import
Bank of China. Golding and his team also attended a
Chinese-Jamaican Economic and Investment forum and held talks with
the President of the Chinese Harbour Engineering Company, Sun Ziyu.




Chinese Vows to Deepen Cooperation

-------------- --------------




4. (SBU) During his meeting with Golding, President Hu expressed
his desire to enhance political dialogue, strengthen mutual
understanding and cooperation, and jointly safeguard the interests
of developing countries. Describing Jamaica as one of China's most
important trading partners in the Caribbean, Hu said both countries
had made remarkable achievements in boosting exchanges and
cooperation in various areas. Xi, who visited Jamaica in February
2009, said the GOC would continue to encourage quality enterprises
to invest in Jamaica. Wen, in pledging continued support, said

both countries should expand cooperation in infrastructure, mining,
and tourism. "As the international financial crisis has posed a
severe impact on China and the Caribbean states, we should help
each other, enhance cooperation, and jointly cope with challenges
so as to consistently boost our friendly ties," Wen continued.




5. (SBU) Vowing to enhance coordination on international affairs to
safeguard the interests of developing countries, Wen said he would
strengthen contacts with small-island states in providing funding,
technology exchange, and support for capacity building. He also
said China remained ready to support additional cultural,
educational and sports exchanges with Jamaica. Wen also witnessed
the signing of a USD 500 million pact on trade and economic
cooperation, infrastructure, and social development. In addition
to repairing and raising the vulnerable Palisadoes road that
connects Kingston with the Norman Manley International Airport, the
funds will be used to construct houses and a Chinese garden at
Jamaica's Hope Botanical Gardens.



Golding Lauds China

--------------




6. (SBU) Golding told Hu that his government and people placed
great importance on relations with China. He reiterated Jamaica's
decision to stick to its one-China policy as well as to respect
China's sovereignty and territorial integrity. Golding also
expressed gratitude for China's aid to Jamaica over the years,
especially since the advent of the global financial crisis. During
his meeting with Xi, Golding spoke highly of the relationship,
noting that the two states are not only good partners but also good
friends. Golding also hailed Jamaica-China exchanges and
cooperation in the fields of politics, economics, and humanitarian
concerns. China's prompt humanitarian aid to Haiti after the
devastating earthquake last month spotlighted the friendship
between the people of China and the Caribbean, he continued. He
also highlighted China's responsible attitude in tackling climate
change.



Sells Jamaica as Investment Destination

-------------- --------------




7. (SBU) At a luncheon of the China Council for the Promotion of
International Trade, Golding told potential investors that Jamaica
wanted to establish greater investment links with China. He said
the primary focus of his visit to China was to move the spirit of
cooperation to a new and exciting dimension and to build on the
foundation laid since diplomatic relations were established in

1972. "We believe that Jamaica offers China tremendous
opportunities in terms of its global reach and the penetration you
are seeking throughout the world. Jamaica is positioned
one-and-a-half hours by air from North America and even less to
Central America, within a region that has a population of over 700
million people. We see Jamaica as a strategic location that can
enhance investments from China seeking to address the growing
demands in this particular part of the world," Golding continued.
Golding closed by making it clear that his aim was to make Jamaica
an investment destination.



Analysis

--------------




8. (SBU) Golding's recent visit to China signals a continuing
reorientation in the foreign policy of the GOJ. With the JLP
apparently dissatisfied with what it perceives to have been a lack
of attention from the U.S., Golding has increasingly been framing
his foreign policy around organizations of developing countries
such as the G77 and the Nonaligned Movement, and has sought to
develop closer ties with Cuba, China and to a lesser extent
Venezuela. This is a marked difference from the 1980s, when the
JLP was closely allied with the U.S. during the Cold War (Reftel
A). Nevertheless, while the GOJ under the JLP has proven quite
willing to accept aid and investment from China, Cuba, and
Venezuela, the Golding administration has made it quite clear that
they have done so out of economic necessity and not due to any
ideological sympathies. Golding also has embraced Canada and the
European Union, which in addition to providing significant
financial resources have concluded generous trade arrangements.
Jamaica's focus on China is not surprising, given that country's
rapid level of economic growth and generosity with development
assistance in Africa and the Caribbean. The Golding
administration, in a bid to make good on its election mantra of
"jobs, jobs, jobs," therefore is looking to cash in on some of the
largesse of the Chinese in their pursuit of the natural resources
required to fuel their expansion. The GOC already has agreed to
revive one of Jamaica's old bauxite plants, and the GOJ is
marketing deals in the coffee, energy, tourism, and manufacturing
sectors. End comment.
Parnell