Minister of Foreign Affairs Fred Mitchell indicated on Saturday that trade between the Bahamas and The Peoples Republic of China is poised to increase further as the relationship between the two nations is strengthened.
“The volume of trade is now close to US$150 million annually,” said Minister Mitchell, who held a press conference at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in honour of the official visit to the Bahamas of Chinaﾒs Foreign Minister Zhaoxing Li.
“We expect that with the expansion of tourism between the two countries that trade would increase even more and with the expansion of the container port in Grand Bahama trade would increase even more.”
This is the first time in the nine years of diplomatic relations between the Bahamas and the Peopleﾒs Republic of China that a foreign minister has visited.
“We are aware that in a couple of days on May 23 we will celebrate our ninth anniversary of establishment of diplomatic ties with both countries,” Minister Li said. “I hope our cooperation will be more fruitfulﾅand will make more contribution to peace and stability of our respective regions and of the world.”
Minister Mitchell, meanwhile, assured that the Bahamas will continue its support of the one-China policy, and Minister Li expressed appreciation for this ongoing support.
The Peopleﾒs Republic of China has been interested in Bahamas relations for quite a while, throwing its support behind the Bahamasﾒ bid to join the World Trade Organization and expressing its interest in furthering economic ties.
The Chinese government has encouraged enterprises to invest in the Bahamas in light industry, agriculture and fishing, and the Bahamas government has been encouraging more investment from Chinese companies and wants more goods from China directly.
Trade between the Bahamas and China has been steadily growing over the years, according to officials from both countries.
According to official Chinese reports, China-Bahamas trade increased by about 80 percent year-on-year in the first eight months of 2003, reaching US$94.8 million.
The Government of the Bahamas hopes to establish direct flights between China and the Bahamas, although Director General of Tourism Vernice Walkine said last year that there was no likelihood in the “immediate term of non-stop service” between the two countries.
That proposal was being explored as a direct result of an agreement that was signed between Bahamian and Chinese officials to facilitate more Chinese tourists to the Bahamas. Several other Caribbean nations have signed similar agreements.
The proposal to designate the Bahamas as a preferred travel destination for Chinese people was one of several that Chinese officials laid on the table during the prime ministerﾒs state visit.
At the time of the visit, president of COSCO Shipping Company, which wants to be the largest shipping company in the world by 2010, also proposed expanding the dry dock ship repair facility in Freeport.
The plan was to enable that operation to accommodate the largest cruise ships in the world, as well as create a significant number of jobs for Bahamians.
The arrangement, according to Prime Minister Perry Christie, was to have resulted in an additional 10 to 40 ships being registered on the Bahamas registered.
By: Stephen Gay, The Bahama Journal
