Grenada and China’s Belt and Road Initiative

by Suelin Low Chew Tung

On Saturday, 4 March, at noon Beijing time (midnight Grenada time), about 40 journalists hosted by China International Press Communication Centre (CIPCC) gathered in the International Hall of the Jianguomenwai Diplomatic Residence Compound to watch the live stream English version of the press conference given by Wang Chao, spokesperson for the 1^st session of the 14th National People’s Congress (NPC).

The Opening Session is scheduled for Sunday, 5 March. The NPC is one of ‘Two Sessions’ — the main annual meetings of China’s government to discuss domestic matters, foreign policies, and the budget that will impact China’s 1.4 billion population.

At this year’s session, the population is represented by 2,977 deputies elected over 35 electoral units, with every region and the nation’s 55 ethnic minority groups and all sectors of society represented. Of that number, 442 are from ethnic minorities; 790 are female, and 497 are workers and farmers. The rest are party and government officials, technical personnel, representatives from Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan, and overseas Chinese who have returned to China.

The NPC deputies are supported by information gathered from “among 2.62 million county and township-level deputies,” Wang said. The system of surveys, field visits, and contact stations across the country that identify and help address difficulties of the people, and the vast representation of the people at the NPC are, according to Wang, best practice of China’s “whole-process people’s democracy.”

The “eight-point regulation” was adopted in 2012. Grenada could benefit from the general principles which speak to thrifty management of resources for official visits abroad and keeping official meetings short and to the point, “with no empty and rigmarole talks.”

Fielding a question from the on-site media about the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) cooperation agreements leading to debt risks in some countries, for example, Africa’s ‘debt trap,’ Wang stated that China is not the largest creditor to Africa. According to the World Bank, Wang said multilateral creditors account for most of Africa’s debt. He said that China uses the BRI as a cooperation platform, advancing the economies of 150 countries involved with no strings or political gains. He stressed that China’s foreign policy stands firmly against countries pursuing selfish national interests.

Since 2005 when Grenada and the People’s Republic of China resumed diplomatic relations, Grenada has benefitted from many of China’s programmes and people-to-people exchanges. How does Grenada reciprocate for true mutual benefit? We submitted a question and hope to have it answered. “China works with the Caribbean in collective cooperation and donates many resources. How does China benefit, how does that fit into the BRI, and what can the smaller countries do to maximise cooperation for mutual benefit, given that the Caribbean is not as resource-rich as China?”

Grenada will sit in on the National People’s Congress (NPC) Opening Session at the Great Hall of the People on Sunday, 5 March. This year’s NPC session will run until 14 March and is expected to cover 9 items, including reviewing implementation reports for 2022 and draft plans for 2023 concerning national economic and social development, and central and local budgets.