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St. Lucians Salute China on National Day

Contact: Earl Bousquet

Friday, October 1, 2004 - The recently-established St. Lucia-China Friendship Association has expressed its congratulations to the People’s Republic of China on its 55th anniversary.
 

In a statement issued Friday to mark the occasion, the Association said: “As has been aptly noted by the Chinese Ambassador to St. Lucia, there have been “earth-shaking changes” in China that have seen the country move in the past 25 years from not being on the list of the top 30 economies in the world to ranking the 5th largest today.”
 

The statement continued: “This year, China surpassed Japan as the dominant Asian trading partner with Europe, and it maintains its exclusively favourable trading status with the United States. More US companies are relocating in China and more Chinese goods are being imported across the world.”
 

With a total volume of trade standing at US $820 billion and an estimated growth rate of 8.8% this year, China’s accelerated pace of industrial development is creating a need for raw materials that affects the world prices for oil and steel.
 

The country has gained admission to the World Trade Organisation (WTO) and has been invited to meetings of the G-7 Group in Washington at this year’s annual meeting of the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF). Because of its comparatively low per capita income, China does not qualify for membership of the IMF or the World Bank. However, its economic might has ensured its invitation to attend the annual decision-making meetings of those bodies.
 

The Association noted: “With such a record on the present world economic stage, there can be no doubt that China is destined to become a dominant world economic power in the not too distant future.”
 

It continued: “As our Governor General Dame Pearlette Louisy has noted, China’s development over the past 25 years ‘has given new meaning to the concept of a developing country.”
 

This unprecedented and unparalleled pace of economic development in China is attributed to the decision taken back in 1979 to institute radical reforms that would open-up the country and take it along a new path of economic development that reflected “One Country, Two Systems.” That decision was taken under the leadership of Deng Xiao Ping, the 100th anniversary of whose birth is being celebrated this year.
 

The Association’s statement noted that “the friendly relations between St. Lucia and China, first established in September 1997, have flowered beautifully these past seven years.”
 

“Assistance to St. Lucia has been significant and has contributed to the development of our sporting facilities, of facilities to promote our foreign trade relations and to the development of our health facilities,” the statement added.
 

It continued: “The trade balance between our two countries is small, but growing. It has increased by 87% in the first half of this year over the same period last year.”
It is the view of the Association that: “Our countries are distant and their sizes are disproportionate. However, the bilateral ties between the two countries and people are like that of sister nations committed to helping each other in the continuing battle for a greater voice for developing countries in the affairs of the world.”
 

St. Lucia supported China’s bid to host the 2008 Olympics and the World Expo in Shanghai in 2010. St. Lucia also supported China’s entry into the WTO and has steadfastly maintained its “One China” policy since breaking state-to-state relations with Taiwan province in 1997.
 

China supported St. Lucia’s candidacy for the Presidency of the United Nations in 2003 and CARICOM Nations have been grateful for support of the region’s candidate, St. Lucia’s Julian R. Hunte.
 

Indeed, the Caribbean has seen the wisdom of developing relations with China. Today, no less than ten (10) CARICOM member-states have diplomatic relations with China, the latest being Dominica and Antigua. The others are The Bahamas, Barbados, Guyana, Jamaica, St. Lucia, Surinam and Trinidad & Tobago.
 

The statement said that the recent establishment of the St. Lucia-China Friendship Association, which took place on September 27, 2004 “marked a natural and logical step in the continuation of the broadening and deepening of relations between the two countries.”
 

Among the top local officials to have visited China to date are Prime Minister Dr Kenny D. Anthony and Governor General Dame Pearlette Louisy (who became the 400th world leader to visit the Great Wall).
 

Visits have also been made by the late Foreign Affairs Minister George Odlum and current Foreign Affairs Minister Julian R. Hunte. Labour Minister Velon John also visited China last year.
 

The regional media is also getting to know China better. Last year, a group of 21 journalists from 12 CARICOM states, led by St. Lucia’s Earl Bousquet paid a ten-day visit to China in September last year.
 

Mr. Bousquet has since written a book on his visit, which is soon to be launched.
Meanwhile, Chinese nationals in St. Lucia are also celebrating their national day. The main celebrations, which will last the entire weekend, are being coordinated by the Embassy of the People’s Republic of China, which also hosted a special reception for St. Lucian nationals to join their Chinese friends last Wednesday evening, September 29.

 

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