Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi meets with Jamaican diplomats

Photo: X account.

Foreign Minister Wang Yi of the People’s Republic of China met with Jamaican Prime Minister Andrew Holness and Minister of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade Kamina Johnson Smith in Kingston, capital of Jamaica, on Sunday, January 20.

Wang says bilateral cooperation under the Belt and Road initiative has been fruitful, and China looks forward to working with Jamaica to further align development strategies, according to Chinese media CRIes.

According to the Jamaican media, Jamaica Observer, the agenda during Yi’s three-day visit to the Caribbean country will include talks on economic cooperation, cultural exchange programs, possible infrastructure projects and grants. Several cabinet ministers of the Jamaican government, including Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade, Finance and Public Service, Health and Welfare, and Infrastructure, participated in the meeting.

The island nation is one of the first Caribbean countries to establish diplomatic relations with the People’s Republic of China, in 1972, and the first to establish a strategic partnership, which marks its five-year anniversary this year. Wang Yi, in fact, said Jamaica is one of the first Caribbean countries to sign a memorandum of cooperation of the Belt and Road with China and the first country in the Western Hemisphere to sign a cooperation plan of the Belt and Road with China, according to the Ministry’s press room.

Andrew Holness, hosted the visit of then Chinese Vice President Xi Jinping to Jamaica, and during his visit to China in 2019, announced with President Xi Jinping the elevation of Jamaica-China relations to a strategic partnership.

This trip is part of Chancellor Wang Yi’s first engagements this year, with official visits to Egypt, Tunisia, Togo, Ivory Coast and Brazil during the month of January.

China’s ambassador to Jamaica, Chen Daojiang, reviewed by Jamaica Observer, said the visit is Wang’s first overseas trip this year and marks the first high-level offline interaction between China and Jamaica since the COVID-19 pandemic.

Main source:

Canciller chino, Wang Yi, se reúne con el primer ministro jamaicano, Andrew Holness, y su homóloga jamaicana, Kamina Johnson Smith| CRIes. (2024, Enero 21). https://espanol.cri.cn/2024/01/21/ARTI4psxEDTbOoPFudxgOaMq240121.shtml?spm=C46183.Pys4f8kpn57z.EFKnXU3WL4wX.9

Other related sources:

Chinese foreign minister visits Jamaica | Jamaica Observer (2024, Enero 21). https://www.jamaicaobserver.com/2024/01/21/chinese-foreign-minister-visits-jamaica/

China y Jamaica destacan frutos de cooperación bilateral | Xinhua Español (2024, Enero 22) https://spanish.xinhuanet.com/20240122/b584412e786e4662a87670b6746f09b9/c.html

Primer Ministro de Jamaica Andrew Holness Se Reúne con Wang Yi | Sala de Prensa del Ministerio de Relaciones Exteriores de la RPCh (2024, Enero 21) https://www.fmprc.gov.cn/esp/zxxx/202401/t20240122_11230286.html

Wang Yi Sostiene Conversaciones con Ministra de Relaciones Exteriores y Comercio Exterior de Jamaica Kamina Johnson Smith | Sala de Prensa del Ministerio de Relaciones Exteriores de la RPCh (2024, Enero 21) https://www.fmprc.gov.cn/esp/zxxx/202401/t20240122_11230287.html