A New Opportunity for Developing China-Bahamas Cooperation

中巴合作发展的新机遇

Huang Qinguo, Ambassador of the People’s Republic of China to The Bahamas

中国驻巴哈马大使  黄亲国

As important members of emerging economies and the developing world, Latin American and Caribbean countries play a major role in safeguarding world peace and development and boast huge development potentials and bright prospects, making them a rising force in the global landscape. Though far apart, China and Latin America and the Caribbean have a long history of people’s friendship. China pay great attention to the development of relations with Latin American and Caribbean countries, and proposed various visions and plans in different periods.

拉美和加勒比地区是新兴经济体和发展中国家的重要组成部分，是维护世界和平与发展的重要力量,是国际格局中不断崛起的一支重要力量，拥有巨大发展潜力和良好发展前景。中国同拉美和加勒比国家相距遥远，但中拉人民友谊源远流长。中国重视与拉美和加勒比地区关系，在各个时期提出了发展对拉关系的愿景和规划。

In 2008, the Chinese government issued its first policy paper on Latin America and the Caribbean, putting forward the goal of establishing a comprehensive and cooperative partnership featuring equality, mutual benefit and common development with Latin American and Caribbean countries. In 2014, leaders of the two sides held a meeting in Brasilia and jointly announced the establishment of the comprehensive and cooperative partnership of equality, mutual benefit and common development. Since then, the relations have entered a new stage of comprehensive cooperation. By the end of 2016, China issued its second policy paper in view of the new developments of China-Latin American relationship and changes in the international relations after the global financial crisis, which draws a new blueprint for the greater development of China-Latin American relationship, and provides a new and rare opportunity for Caribbean countries, in particular, The Bahamas, to enhance its cooperation with China.

2008年中国政府发布首份对拉政策文件，提出建立平等互利、共同发展的中拉全面合作伙伴关系这一阶段性目标，并在2014年的中拉领导人巴西利亚会晤上确立了上述关系定位，开启了中拉关系全面合作的新阶段。2016年底，根据中拉关系的新发展和国际金融危机后国际形势的新变化，中国政府发布第二份对拉政策文件，描绘了推动中拉关系实现更大发展的新蓝图，为加勒比地区国家特别是巴哈马加强与中国的合作关系提供了新的难得机遇。

The main idea of the new policy paper is as follows: China is committed to building a new relationship with Latin America and the Caribbean with five salient features, namely, sincerity and mutual trust in the political field, win-win cooperation on the economic front, mutual learning in culture, close coordination in international affairs, as well as mutual reinforcement between China’s cooperation with the region as a whole and its bilateral relations with individual countries in the region. We aim to bring the comprehensive and cooperative partnership to a new height by bringing the two sides into a community of shared future in which all countries join hands in development. The main objectives and policies include:

新的对拉政策文件的核心是，通过构建政治上真诚互信、经贸上合作共赢、人文上互学互鉴、国际事务中密切协作、整体合作和双边关系相互促进的中拉关系“五位一体”新格局，推动中拉全面合作伙伴关系再上新台阶，打造中拉命运共同体。主要目标和政策举措包括：

Sticking to the principle of equality and sincere mutual support. China maintains that all countries, big or small, strong or weak, rich or poor, are equal members of the international community. China respects the right of Latin American and Caribbean countries to choose their own paths of development and is ready to work with Latin American and Caribbean countries to strengthen exchanges and deepen strategic mutual trust. The Chinese government appreciates that the vast majority of Latin American and Caribbean countries abide by the one China principle and support China’s great cause of reunification. China stands ready to strengthen exchanges in governance experience with Latin American and Caribbean governments, legislative bodies, political parties, and entities at the local level.

坚持平等相待，始终真诚相助。中国坚持国家不分大小、强弱、贫富都是国际社会平等成员，中国尊重拉美和加勒比国家自主选择发展道路的权利，愿同拉美和加勒比国家加强交流，深化战略互信。中国政府赞赏绝大多数拉美和加勒比国家恪守一个中国原则，支持中国统一大业。中方愿同拉美和加勒比国家在政府、立法机关、政党、地方等部门加强往来和治国理政交流。

Seeking mutually beneficial cooperation and common development. China is ready to build new framework of pragmatic cooperation with Latin American and Caribbean countries, guided by the China-Latin American and Caribbean Countries Cooperation Plan (2015–2019), utilizing trade, investment and financial cooperation as driving forces, and identifying energy and resources, infrastructure construction, agriculture, manufacturing, scientific and technological innovation and information technology as cooperation priorities, actively explore the new model for capacity cooperation (which refers to jointly building the three major passages of logistics, electricity and information in Latin America, enabling healthy interactions among the enterprise, society and government, and expanding the three financing channels of funds, credit loans and insurance), and speed up quality improvement and upgrading of the cooperation between China and Latin America and the Caribbean. In accordance with China’s financial capacity and level of economic and social development, China will continue to provide economic and technical assistance to Latin American and Caribbean countries without attaching any political conditions.

坚持互利合作，促进共同发展。中方愿同拉方以《中国与拉美和加勒比国家合作规划（2015-2019）》为指引，以贸易、投资、金融合作为动力，以能源资源、基础设施建设、农业、制造业、科技创新、信息技术为合作重点构建合作框架，积极探索产能合作新模式（即共建拉美物流、电力、信息三大通道，实现企业、社会、政府三者良性互动，拓展基金、信贷、保险三条融资渠道），推动中拉合作加快提质升级。中国将根据自身财力和经济社会发展状况，继续向拉美和加勒比国家提供不附加任何政治条件的经济技术援助。

Exchanges and mutual learning, as well as carrying forward the friendship from generation to generation. China stands ready to strengthen cooperation in the fields of education, science and technology, culture, sports, health, journalism and tourism with Latin American and Caribbean countries. China will actively hold dialogues between civilizations to bring the hearts of our peoples closer, and make contributions to promoting the harmonious coexistence of different civilizations in the world. China will continue to support cultural groups to conduct exchanges, increase the number of government scholarships, support direct flight and enhance the exchanges between the peoples as well as think tanks.