— Vice-President Jagdeo says

THE relationship Guyana shares with China and the United States of America will remain cordial and mutually beneficial, Vice-President Bharrat Jagdeo has affirmed.

Guyana has shared close ties with both nations for decades, but the country’s relationship with China was questioned recently by an interviewer from United States-based Vice News during an engagement with Vice-President Jagdeo.

The senior Guyanese official was quizzed on the purported “massive award” of projects to China under his watch. The journalist even went further to ask the Vice-President if he had accepted bribes from Chinese contracts.

Owing to the structure and types of questions, Jagdeo was convinced that the journalist had a pre-determined agenda, but he used the opportunity to clarify that Guyana does not favour Chinese investors nor has the country been privileged to special loans from the Asian nation.

The Vice-President was keen on stating that Guyana believes in having friends once the country stands to benefit from the relationship.

“…we do not want to be caught up in a cold-war type of atmosphere with Chin and the US,” Jagdeo said, adding: “The government will not be caught up in an anti-Chinese hysteria.”

Guyana, like 180 countries, including the United States and countries within Europe, subscribes to the “One China” policy, but it does not restrict the country from building relationships with other nations.

The Vice-President believes that the Vice News journalist was not well informed about the nation and its ongoing and potential projects, since she related that Guyana, after reversing a decision related to Taiwan, was able to benefit from a $1.5 billion loan from China.

The government had terminated a day-old agreement which had initially granted approval for the establishment of a Taiwanese trade office, here in Guyana. The approval for the office raised questions relative to Guyana’s relationship with the People’s Republic of China, which considers Taiwan to be a breakaway province under the “One China” principle.

Permanent Secretary at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Elisabeth Harper, had said that Guyana has not recognised Taiwan as a State.

She added: “We continue to accept the One China policy and our diplomatic relations with the People’s Republic of China remains intact.”

This decision, however, did not grant Guyana any special concessions, Vice-President Jagdeo clarified.

“To say we got a loan after reversing the decision is not true… there is no new loan with China at this point in time,” Vice-President Jagdeo said.

Guyana formally established diplomatic relations with the People’s Republic of China on June 27, 1972, under the leadership of former President, the Late Arthur Chung. This landmark arrangement saw Guyana becoming the very first English-speaking Caribbean country to establish diplomatic relations with China.

Over the last few decades, the two countries have enjoyed friendly and mutually beneficial ties that hinge on cultural connections dating back to colonial immigration.

Similarly, since the late 1980s, Guyana and the United States have been working together to advance development on many fronts,

The two countries, according to the US State Department, promote democracy and respect for human rights; empower youth, women, the private sector, and civic/opinion leaders to formulate grassroots responses to social and economic challenges; support new initiatives to improve the health of the Guyanese people, and, through the Caribbean Basin Security Initiative (CBSI), enhance the security and prosperity of the region.