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 
 
------------ 
 
 
 
¶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