Seizing New Opportunities to Jointly Create a Brilliant Future for China-jamaica Relations
On the occasion of the 50th anniversary of China-jamaica relations
November 21st, 2022 marks the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the People’s Republic of China and Jamaica. Fifty years ago today, leaders of our two countries made their visionary strategic decision to establish diplomatic relations between China and Jamaica, opening up a new chapter in our countries’ engagements. Jamaica became the rst Englishspeaking Caribbean country to establish diplomatic relations with China. Over the past 50 years, thanks to our leaders’ strategic guidance, China-jamaica relations have achieved steady and healthy development with constantly deepened political mutual trust, continuously expanded practical cooperation, increasingly intensive people-to-people and cultural exchanges and ever more consolidated friendship between our peoples, delivering tangible bene ts to our countries and our peoples.
Today, Chinese President Xi Jinping and Jamaican Governor-general, H.E. the Most Honourable Sir Patrick Allen exchanged congratulatory messages on the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between our countries, providing the strategic guidance, pointing out the future direction and setting the goals for China-jamaica relations in the next 50 years. Congratulatory messages have also been exchanged between Chinese Premier Li Keqiang and Jamaican Prime Minister the Most Honourable Andrew Holness, and between Member of the Political Bureau of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China(cpc) and Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi and Senator the Honourable Kamina Johnson Smith, Minister of Foreign A airs and Foreign Trade of Jamaica. As the Chinese Ambassador to Jamaica, I bear the weighty responsibility and proud mission to advance China-jamaica Strategic Partnership to a new level and deliver more achievements under the strategic guidance of our leaders. It will mark the half-year anniversary since I arrived in Jamaica in a few days. In the past nearly 6 months, I met with Jamaican friends from all walks of life and visited di erent places on the island, including many sites of our practical cooperation projects. us I gained more comprehensive, deeper and more direct understanding and perspectives of China-jamaica relations.
China and Jamaica enjoy deeply rooted relations that represent a ne example. e one-china principle is the political foundation for China to establish and develop diplomatic relations with other countries. Jamaica’s rm adherence to the one-china principle lays a solid foundation for China-jamaica relations. Since I started my tenure, leaders from our countries have exchanged congratulatory messages on the National Day/independence Day and the 50th anniversary of the establishment of China-jamaica relations. Leaders of the Jamaica Labour Party(jlp) and the People’s National Party(pnp) respectively sent congratulatory messages to Xi Jinping on his re-election as the General Secretary of the CPC Central Committee. e JLP and the PNP also respectively sent congratulatory messages on the successful convening of the 20th National Congress of the CPC. e frequent interactions between our leaders and close communication among political parties of our countries have further strengthened our political mutual trust. Jamaica was the rst English-speaking Caribbean country to establish a strategic partnership with China, and the rst Caribbean country to sign a cooperation plan on jointly promoting the Belt and Road cooperation with China. Going forward, as China and Jamaica strive to enhance political mutual trust and strengthen high-level interactions, I believe that we will surely witness more “rst things” from China-jamaica relations.
China and Jamaica enjoy mutually bene cial relations that hold vast potential. When I visited many Chinese enterprises in Jamaica, I learned that most of their employees are local people and these enterprises have created over 35,000 direct jobs so far. When I travelled on the North-south Highway, I felt for myself the convenience this highway brings to Jamaican people. When I toured the Chinese Garden at