By Abigail Headley
“We do not see ourselves as a country that promotes division. We want to be the country that brings people [… and] nations together.”
These were the words of President Irfaan Ali during an exclusive interview with China Global Television Network (CGTN) while on his recent visit to the Republic of China. The president’s visit came on the heels of the 51st anniversary of Guyana’s diplomatic relations with China.
“We have made it very clear that we support One China policy. This has been our position all along, throughout the now 51st anniversary of our diplomatic relationship with China. We have consistently made this clear and public, so we see our relationship with China as one in which we pursue the socio-economic advancement of our people,” Ali told the interviewer, Dong Xue.
“We are not going to position ourselves into situations that would test our principles, and one of the principles that we have stood by is the One China policy.”
Questions asked of Ali during the 15-minute interview revolved around his impression of China, his reflection of the influence Chinese peoples have had on Guyana’s society since their first arrival to now, trade relations between the two countries and ways in which cooperation can be strengthened between the two, and Guyana’s benefit from China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI).
Ali related that his impression of China was first crafted through his grandmother’s visit in 1965, and noted that as a leader he was fully aware of the potential, contributions, and emergence of the country as an important development partner.
With regard to influence, the President made mention of the development of the commerce, infrastructure, trade and retail sector, and the cuisine in his native land, all of which have been touched by Chinese in Guyana.
“The value of every ethnic group is enormous to our country and who we are as Guyanese people, so our Chinese heritage, […] inheritance is culturally, […] socially, […], economically integrated into the collective whole of [what] makes us Guyanese,” he explained.
Making note of China’s contribution to the Oil and Gas Sector (via CNOOC), technology (via Huawei and 5G), infrastructure, and education (via student scholarships), Ali told the Chinese reporter that Guyana was working on expanding the collaboration between the two countries to include climate change in environmental and ecological services. He added that Guyana was currently working with China on an agricultural modernization expansion plan.
“We in Guyana would’ve benefitted from the infrastructure transformation… Infrastructure is key for the expansion of sectors, for the opening up of opportunities, the opening up of land for housing, food production, the modernization of the country, the improvement in terms of the efficiency in transparency, the security of the country, the security architecture of the country, all of these are areas that we would’ve benefitted,” Ali said to reference the BRI benefits.
Asked how the oil discovery has impacted the country economically and otherwise, the Head of State noted that while revenue from oil would give Guyana an opportunity to expand its growth and to modernize at a much faster pace, the country had other ambitions before the onset of the current and ongoing oil and gas era.
“The ambition was to create an economy that is based on a low-carbon development framework… an economy in a country that takes very seriously its global responsibility, whether its on food security, climate change [or] energy security. A country that abides by the principle of service to humanity, working in the interest of humanity. One in which we’ll invest heavily in the healthcare and education – and China is already playing a very key role – also in the healthcare sector, we have six regional hospitals that [are] being built and supported by Sinopharm out of China. All of these would enable us to create a very modern sustainable society and one that would contribute to an enhanced global environment…,” he said
Ali said he foresaw tremendous opportunity for cooperation between China and Guyana. On this note he made reference to the oil blocks that came from the collaboration with CINOOC.
“We are hoping that more Chinese companies will also get involved in the auction of those 14 blocks… We are going out back for an expression of interest in hydroelectricity, because we want to create an energy infrastructure in Guyana that positions us as a regional energy hub…,” he added.
One question of importance that was asked of Ali, was in reference to Guyana’s ability to balance relations between Beijing and Washington, given the ongoing tension between China and the United States (US). To this, the president referenced the people-to-people ties that exist through the migration of Guyanese to the US and the migration of Chinese to Guyana.
“There is no balance required. We respect every nation. We value our friendship with everyone. Our friendship and our trust is based on principles. We are in no power struggle. We are part of a global system. We believe in multilateralism; we believe in standing strong to values and principles that promote equity for all of humanity. China is a great friend to us. China is an important partner in our development. The US is a great friend to us and a very important partner, also, to our development,” he explained.
The President also shared his vision of a world where the US and China work together as this is essential for the global environment.
“Both countries possess capacity, capability, and economies that no one can ignore,” Ali concluded.
Ali was on his first visit to China. During his one-week stay he met with China’s president Xi Jinping and other government officials. Members of Guyana’s business community were also in China and participated in a number of sessions with major Chinese companies.
