No new loans from China – Holness

JAMAICA WILL not be accepting any new loans from China, Prime Minister Andrew Holness disclosed at the end of his official visit to the Asian industrial powerhouse on Saturday.

Holness, in a statement, said that cooperation with the Chinese on major infrastructure projects would continue but would be arranged on the basis of joint ventures, public-private partnerships, or private-sector transactions directly between Jamaican and Chinese firms.

“The Government of Jamaica, in keeping with its firm commitment to reduce debt rapidly, would not negotiate any new loan programmes with our Chinese partners,” a section of an official statement released Sunday by Jamaica House said.

Finance Minister Dr Nigel Clarke in January said that loans from the Chinese accounted for 3.9 per cent of Jamaica’s total loan portfolio. Based on Jamaica’s debt stock of about $2 trillion, loans from the Chinese would amount to about $78 billion.

The prime minister said that Jamaica’s partnership with China will focus on economic zones, logistics, agriculture, water and sewage, affordable housing, and urban development.

STRATEGIC AREAS FOR INVESTMENT

Holness insisted that there remained strategic areas for further investments by China in Jamaica.

“These areas were strategic for investments because they could be pursued on an open, profitable commercial basis within fiscal incentives allowed by the law and without Government necessarily incurring more debt or having to take an equity stake,” he said.

He also noted that the areas were strategic because they aligned with the Government’s objectives of stimulating growth, creating jobs, and building resilience in Jamaica’s economy.

Last week, Jamaica was caught in a diplomatic crossfire between the United States and China.

Admiral Craig Faller, commander of the United States Southern Command, insisted that China did not share the common values and philosophies that America and Jamaica cherished. He also claimed that China was a purveyor of “disinformation”.

But the Chinese Embassy in Kingston hit back, accusing Washington of disrespect and defamation.

“Irrespective of the intentions by Admiral Faller making those irresponsible accusations, China will continuously and unswervingly work together with Jamaica and other Latin American and Caribbean countries to jointly promote the Belt and Road cooperation for shared benefits,” the embassy said.