Jamaica gets guest-of-honour status for China trade expo

JAMAICA WILL be the guest of honour at the second staging of the China International Import Expo, joining four other countries given that designation.

Prime Minister Andrew Holness and Minister of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade Kamina Johnson Smith will head Jamaica’s delegation to the expo, which is to be held in Shanghai next month.

The expo, which is the brainchild of Chinese President Xi Jinping, will be held from November 5 to 10 at the National Convention and Exhibition Centre in Shanghai. The six-day conference will be hosted by the Chinese Ministry of Commerce and the Shanghai Municipal People’s Government.

Johnson Smith said that the event presents an opportunity to showcase what Jamaica has to offer as a trade and investment destination and partner in the area of commercial relations.

BUILDING NEW JAMAICA

“We will use the visit to engage targeted stakeholders on prospective partnerships that can support [the] quest to build the new Jamaica that our people want,” Johnson Smith said.

She was speaking at the recently held Jamaica-China Friendship Association celebrations to commemorate the 70th anniversary of the People’s Republic of China at The Jamaica Pegasus hotel.

A statement from the Political Section of the Chinese Embassy in Kingston noted that there were already 170 countries, more than 3,000 exhibitors, and 400,000-plus buyers signed up for the exhibition.

“It is not a Chinese solo, but a chorus of the world. We are willing to work with the international community to build an import fair into an effective channel for the world’s goods, technologies, and services to enter the Chinese market and to create an open-cooperation platform for countries to strengthen cooperation, exchanges, and conduct international trade,” read the statement.

It stated further that China was willing to make joint contributions to building an open world economy and promoting global trade.