— to smear Guyana-China relations, says Chinese Ambassador 

— reiterates all business transactions done by Chinese companies in Guyana are above board

CHINA’S Ambassador to Guyana, Guo Haiyan, on Monday dismissed a documentary by US media house VICE News as malicious, with the intent to smear Guyana-China relations and reiterated that all business transactions done by Chinese companies in Guyana are above board.

Ambassador Haiyan shared her comments on the controversial documentary during a ceremony at the Chinese Embassy in Georgetown on Monday.

VICE News had touted the documentary as an exposé on corrupt practices by Chinese companies in Guyana, but the publication failed miserably to show any proof of corrupt practices. Instead, it was laced with unsubstantiated claims made by anonymous persons, which VICE news claimed are Chinese businesspersons in Guyana.

“I didn’t see any corrupt practices,” said Ambassador Haiyan as she responded to questions from reporters.

“Yesterday [Sunday] we saw the video come out. This so-called journalist, undercover journalist, that [sic] came with a predetermined agenda. The purpose is clear. One of their purpose [sic] was to smear the Chinese companies here and attack the China-Guyana cooperation. Yesterday we saw the video and it’s quite clear that it was edited with a malicious purpose,” Ambassador Haiyan said.

According to the ambassador, all Chinese companies in Guyana understand the need to be above board in their interactions, so as to maintain the continued good relations between Guyana and China.

“The Chinese Government and Embassy is [sic] always requiring, and we believe, that Chinese companies here in Guyana they’re doing business following the local laws, international practices and market rules. And they participated in the projects through open and fair competition,” Ambassador Haiyan affirmed.

She added: “Since they came to Guyana, they need to abide by the local laws. If there’s any violations then the Guyanese Government will take action.”

The documentary entitled “Guyana For Sale” by VICE News journalist, Isobel Yeung, includes an interview with Vice-President, Dr Bharrat Jagdeo earlier this year, where she questioned him about collecting bribes.

However, the piece which was aired, failed to provide any evidence linking Dr Jagdeo to collecting bribes.

Prior to its release, the Vice-President had posted the entire sit-down interview he gave to the VICE News team. During the interview, he said he would meet with persons who are interested in investing in Guyana, but has never been offered a bribe or accepted any.

In the VICE News piece released on Sunday, Dr Jagdeo can be heard saying: “No, no, no! I’m not getting involved with business! My thing is that I’m in government, so I assist from the government side.”

In the piece, after a sit-down with the Vice-President, Chinese businessman Su Zhi Rhong was purportedly heard making the claim to an undercover member of the VICE News team that he accepts bribes for the Vice-President.

Following the release of the VICE News documentary, Dr Jagdeo, on Sunday, told several sections of the media that he will be taking legal action again Su, who is his tenant, for the slanderous claims he [Su] has made against him.