The relationship between the People’s Republic of China and the Commonwealth of The Bahamas is stronger today than it ever was. Many feel that The Bahamas is China’s best friend in the Western Hemisphere. Indeed, Bahamians feel as if we are China’s best friend, and many people wish for it to remain that way. Geopolitics aside, the partnership is a mutually beneficial one as much as it is a lucrative one for both sides, but in very distinct ways.
To put this relationship into the context of the present, the amount of money spent here in The Bahamas on several key infrastructural projects and private sector projects through the Import-Export Bank of China, China State Construction of America and the central government of Chinasupports the basis for a flourishing Chinese Embassy here in The Bahamas, and just as much of a vibrant and flourishing Bahamian Embassy in China.
People are of the impression that The Bahamas is a proto-typical recipient of large swathes of money from the Chinese government, particularly taking into consideration a $3.5 billion private investment in the Baha-Mar Resort – the largest single investment made in the Caribbean by China – the Thomas A. Robinson, National Sports Stadium, the purchase of the landmarkBritish Colonial Hilton, and a substantial investment in the Freeport Free-Trade Zone and adjoining Container Port.
While it is true that The Bahamas does in fact benefit from a healthy dollop of investment inflows from China, The Bahamas serves a much greater purpose. In fact, business with China and The Bahamas flows freely in both directions, taking into consideration the differences insize and scale of both countries and economies.
There is a large contingent of Chinese entrepreneurs in The Bahamas that shop and trade directly with Chinese exporters, and there is a large contingent of Bahamian and naturalized Bahamian business people from America and Canada that conduct a lot of import-export business with China.
The common sense theme is that while China does not own many of the brandname products that you seeon your store shelves, from apparel, to electronics and small manufactured parts, many of the factories that build and assemble some of the most universally known productsand staples are located directly in China. Therefore, for some, it is wise and prudent to simply go directly to Chinese manufacturers, instead of buying goods at a higher cost from American or Canadian wholesalers; to establish your own trade and transhipment links with Chinese import-export businesses, and cut the middle man out of the equation in addition to cutting the price.
Improving Chinese-Bahamian relations is critical at a time like this when business and involvement is at an all-time high. There are three key factors in improving relations between The Bahamas and China:
Firstly, fromthe Bahamian perspective, foreign policy is something that is very direct to a large degree: keep up good appearances with all countries and respect all international agencies and agreements. This simple yet effective foreign policystrategy makes The Bahamas an extremely beneficial partner, because Bahamians in the international diplomatic arena lean more on the side of establishing meaningful partnerships.
In the case of China’s foreign policy, particularly for the Caribbean,it is centred on one main theme: “Party to Party Relationship Building”. This sums up Chinese involvement in the Caribbean, and most certainly in The Bahamas as its government seeks to strengthen ties not just with one political administration, but with all sides of the political divide as it has been known to do; to invite all sides to joint discussions and dialogue on social, economic and governmental matters that China has vested interests in.
While it may seem apparent that China is a communist state and The Bahamas is a democratic one, people must understand that China has democratic institutions enmeshed in their political and governmental system. While it may have the appearance of communist totalitarianism, its system of appointments to key boards, political offices and central planning offices is a democratic process open for delegates to take part in.
China’s Central Planning Committee (CPC) and the government establishment itself promotes the idea of “One country, two systems”, particularly with its approach to its governance of Taiwan. This approach has been expanded to other autonomous areas that have stronger democratic and private sector institutions,for example, the principalities of Macao and Hong Kong.
This approach is what some would classify as a hand’s off approach to local governmental institutions and economic regulation of those autonomous regions mentioned. The Chinese government maintains military control over these areas as well as external diplomatic relations with other countries on their behalf. When we compare this to The Bahamas, we can automatically relate China’s CPC with our National Economic Council (NEC), made up of a select grouping ofCabinet ministers that guide national policy in all spheres – however, only for the duration of their term in office before national elections are held, by constitutional mandate.
Secondly, when we speak of “One country, two systems”, with particular regard to China’s relationship with Taiwan, the arrangement the Central Government of The Bahamas has with the Grand Bahama Port Authority (GBPA) and its administration of the city of Freeport comes to mind. While the GBPA in Grand Bahama is far from being a totally separate and autonomous state, as we have seen in Hong-Kong at the very least, the way Freeport is regulated, managed, its taxes are collected and the way the economic and commercial pie is cut, is vastly different from that in the capital city of Nassau. The way the administration of the two cities is structured is also vastly different.
The commercial and economic systems of The Bahamas and China are very different, and yet interestingly, we can learn from one another from what we are currently doing. That is, joint trade shows, shared investment initiatives, deeper partnerships with import and export companies, increasing our economic attachés in our respective embassies and, of course, facilitating foreign missions so that Chinese and Bahamian investors and interested people can have a deeper understanding of each other, along withgiving them a bird’s eye view of how partnerships can bestbe made. The ingredients, information, will and links are there for a continued partnership between the People’s Republic of China and the Commonwealth of The Bahamas, and we must continue to nurture it.
Youri Aramin Kemp
Ministry of Financial Services
Commonwealth of The Bahamas
Youri Kemp is a Financial and Trade Officer in the Ministry of Financial Services, Commonwealth of The Bahamas. Mr. Kemp has over seven years experience in economic analysis, trade and management consulting. Prior to his employment with the Ministry of Financial Services, Mr. Kemp was employed with the Inter-American Development Bank as an Investment Consultant for their Multi-lateral Investment Fund, managing their Bahamas based portfolio. Mr. Kemp is a graduate of the London School of Economics (MSc.), St. Thomas University (BA) and Cornell University (Financial Management Certification).
