The Tribune

By Ms Yan Jiarong

Ambassador extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the People’s Republic of China to
the Commonwealth of The Bahamas

I am greatly honoured to be appointed by President Xi Jinping as the 10th Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the People’s Republic of China to the Commonwealth of The Bahamas. Right after arriving in Nassau on July 5, I was immersed in the joy of celebrating the Independence Day. The warmth and friendship of the government and people of the country made me feel at home. The Bahamas is a shining pearl of the Caribbean Sea. It has successfully maintained social stability and economic growth over the years with a rapid recovery of its tourism industry from the impact of COVID-19. Every Bahamian can take pride in the diligence, wisdom and resilience which made this country unique and beautiful.

China regards The Bahamas as an important cooperation partner in the Caribbean. Since the establishment of the diplomatic relations between China and The Bahamas in 1997 based on the One-China Principle, the China-Bahamas relations based on equality, mutual respect and win-win cooperation have been progressing well with positive momentum. A series of landmark projects, such as the Thomas Robinson Stadium, the airport highway, the North Abaco Port, the Freeport Container Port and The Pointe, have been accomplished. The Baha Mar Resort has created more than 6,000 local jobs and contributed to 12 percent of the GDP of this country.

At present, China has entered a new stage of high-quality development, which will certainly bring new opportunities for China-Bahamas cooperation. This week from July 15 to 18, the much-expected Third Plenary Session of the 20th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC) was convened in Beijing. The session made systematic plans for further deepening reform comprehensively, and pushing forward the Chinese path to modernisation. The session stresses that Chinese modernisation is the modernisation of peaceful development. In foreign relations, China remains firmly committed to pursuing an independent foreign policy of peace and is dedicated to promoting a human community with a shared future. Holding dear humanity’s shared values, we will pursue the Global Development Initiative, the Global Security Initiative, and the Global Civilisation Initiative, call for an equal and orderly multipolar world and universally beneficial and inclusive economic globalisation, and participate in efforts to lead the reform and development of the global governance system.

The session provides much-needed certainty and stability to a world rocked by uncertainty and turmoil. We are all experiencing a counter-current of economic globalisation and a sluggish world economy. In the face of the complex international and domestic situation as well as a new round of scientific and technological revolution and industrial transformation, China’s choice is clear, that is to further deepen reform in an all-round way. It’s certainly not common to see any country or political party that has such political courage and historical commitment as China to promote reforms at such a large scope with such hard endeavors and in such a short period of time.

One of the key words of reform is “the new quality productive forces”, meaning the advanced productive forces are characterized by innovation with high technology, high efficiency and high quality. China’s dedication to promote new quality productive forces is certainly good news for the world economic recovery. China’s economy has maintained an average annual contribution rate of about 30 percent to world economic growth in recent years. Despite the complex and severe external environment, we are confident that China’s economy will maintain great resilience and potential with its long-term positive fundamentals unchanged. That’s probably why those international organizations such as the International Monetary Fund raised China’s economic growth forecast recently.

The session states that opening up is a defining feature of Chinese modernisation. My understanding is that China will continue to promote reform through opening up, develop new institutions for open economy and refine the mechanisms for even higher quality cooperation under the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). The BRI now has attracted participation of more than three-quarters of the world’s countries and more than 30 international organisations, having stimulated nearly one trillion US dollars in investment. As a global public good and a platform for international cooperation, the BRI is obviously gaining increasing support. It is estimated that by 2030 the BRI is going to lift 7.6 million people out of extreme poverty and 32 million out of moderate poverty in the participating countries, creating $1.6 trillion benefit for the world annually.

The session also stated that Chinese modernisation is the modernisation of harmony between humanity and nature. I’m sure that China will step up its efforts to improve the ecological systems and reduce pollution to ensure low-carbon development. As you may be aware that China has made a solemn commitment to strive to achieve carbon peaking by 2030 and carbon neutrality by 2060. It means that China, as the world’s largest developing country, will accomplish the world’s highest rate of reduction in carbon emission intensity, and to reach carbon neutrality from carbon peak in the shortest period of time in the world history. It also means a broad and profound economic and social transformation. China will do its best to turn the climate challenge into a green growth opportunity and indeed China has already achieved remarkable progress in this regard. China has been ranking first for consecutive years in terms of installed capacity of renewable energy, including hydro power, wind power and photovoltaics (PV). China is cooperating with more than 100 countries and regions in green energy projects, solving their problems of inaccessibility and high cost of electricity. The International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) report shows that over the past 10 years, the average cost of electricity generated by wind power and PV power generation projects around the world has respectively dropped by more than 60 per cent and 80 per cent, with a large part of the credit to China innovation, China manufacturing and China engineering. As the only country with a complete range of all the industrial sectors in the United Nations International Standard Industrial Classification (ISIC), China attains a significant competitive advantage in the new energy sector. The affordable and good-quality products of China benefited consumers around the globe. All of these are attributed to China’s mega-market, long-term accumulation of technological innovations and comprehensive industrial support system. Every new-energy vehicle produced in China, and every renewable energy co-operation project carried out by China and its partnership countries, play an important part in promoting the global green energy transition, implementing the United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, and building a clean and beautiful world. The above is only a microcosm of how China’s new quality productive forces benefit the world. China is also advancing rapidly in AI and digital economy.

The government and people of The Bahamas are committed to build a better, cleaner and more prosperous Bahamas while developing green and blue economy. China has a lot to offer in synergising the development strategies of both countries and broadening areas of cooperation between the two countries. My mission is to promote China-Bahamas relations to a higher level and bring more tangible benefits to the people of the two countries based on the real needs of the two peoples and guided by President Xi Jinping’s vision of building a community of a shared future for mankind and within the framework of the Global South cooperation. My colleagues and I will make unremitting efforts to this end together with friends from all walks of life who are committed to China-Bahamas friendship. We look forward to your continued understanding and support.