All eyes on Xi in run-up to LAC visit

By Earl Bousquet: 0 Comment(s)Print E-mail China.org.cn, May 28, 2013

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Warner is a controversial millionaire politician who resigned following allegations of corrupt behavior in a damning recent FIFA (International Football Federation) report on financial matters during Warner's long term as FIFA Vice President and head of CONCACAF (Latin American and Caribbean Football Federation).

The beleaguered Warner continues to be haunted by the FIFA findings, but he's made it clear he'll go down fighting. He says he wants to contest the vacant seat created by his resignation on a UNC ticket and has warned his party he will fiercely contest any challenge from within the party.

President Xi might see or hear references to these local political mix-ups but his hosts will hope the president will focus on reassuring them – and the rest of the CARICOM region – hat in these perilous economic times, China is also as willing as ever to strengthen relations and deepen cooperation with CARICOM.

Some LAC leaders worry about the various levels of access to aid from Beijing. There are several bilateral trade relationships in place, but the islands and territories with Taiwan ties have long been seeking ways to access multilateral CARICOM aid packages announced by Beijing over the past decade.

St. Lucia, the strongest OECS economy, has ties with Taipei, inherited by the ruling St. Lucia Labour Party (SLP) of Prime Minister Dr Kenny D. Anthony, which has bilateral ties with the ruling Communist Party of China (CPC). Taiwan-St. Lucia ties are improving under the current administrations in Castries and Taipei, contrary to earlier expectations that Anthony would sever ties after winning the November 2011 general election.

One decade after the 1992 Consensus, there's general hope in LAC that the speedy bridging of the political and economic gaps across the Straits will repair the effects of earlier strained cross-Straits relations on China-LAC ties. Unfortunately, inheriting Taiwan ties from preceding administrations is keeping some countries feeling locked out of direct or equal access to certain forms of multilateral China aid to the region which they would have had access to if they had established bilateral ties with China. St. Lucia, Haiti, Nicaragua are three such examples.

Not everything is gloomy, however. Apart from the flowering of People-to-People ties, China-LAC ties are also flourishing multilaterally in the new global dispensation. LAC states can today access new forms of bilateral and multilateral China aid through the recently established Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC), as well as through wider regional economic and financial entities such as the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) and the Caribbean Development Bank (CDB). China is a contributing and non-borrowing member of both institutions.

On May 22, during the 43rd Annual General Meeting of the Board of Governors of the CDB in St. Lucia, St. Lucia and three other Independent OECS member-states, Dominica, St. Vincent and the Grenadines and Grenada, learned that they would be able to access a new U.S.$20 million special loan package from the IDB for onward processing to the OECS member-states through the CDB.

Trinidad & Tobago is especially looking forward to the Chinese president's visit and the country has special significance as it was where the first Chinese immigrants landed in 1806. There's a large and distinct local Chinese community, but Trinidadians (and Tobagonians) generally do heavily support cultural activities by visiting Chinese artistes.

But quite apart from all the anticipated fanfare surrounding President Xi's visit to Trinidad & Tobago, there's already special interest – ahead of the release of details about the China delegation – in whether President Xi's massively popular songstress wife will be accompanying her husband to Port of Spain.

Such interest is understandable in this particularly unique, multi-ethnic and multi-cultural Caribbean "Land of Carnival and Calypso," where the famous Steel Band was invented from empty oil drums over a century ago and where entertainment continues, to this day, to reign supreme over politics.

The author is a columnist with China.org.cn. For more information please visit: http://www.china.org.cn/opinion/earlbousquet.htm

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