China’s
Ambassador to Jamaica Chen Daojiang has again highlighted the strong friendship between Kingston and Beijing as he outlined a raft of programmes aimed at enhancing bilateral relations.

Ambassador Chen gave the update at a news conference at the Chinese Embassy in St Andrew last Thursday.

In addition to announcing that this year his country has arranged for 42 Jamaicans to receive training in China, Ambassador Chen said the embassy will select community-level local entities that are friendly to China and focus on Jamaican people’s livelihood, and award them the honorary title of ‘Family of China-Jamaica Friendship’.

Additionally, China-Jamaica Friendship awards will be presented to Jamaican individuals who have made outstanding contributions to promoting friendship between both countries.

He also pointed out that China has temporarily exempted qualified visa applicants from providing fingerprints, has implemented a 25 per cent discount on visa fees, and now has a visa appointment-free policy.

In the area of sports, he said China is about to resume its coaching cooperation programme that was disrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic. As such, 138 Jamaican athletes will leave for China to receive 60-day systematic training in swimming, gymnastics, badminton, women’s volleyball, and women’s basketball.

He also said that this year marks the 170th anniversary of the arrival of the first Chinese in Jamaica. In observance of that a grand celebration will be held from July to October.

Chen also spoke of the trade relationship between both countries, saying that it is thriving and pointed out that in 2023 the trade volume was US$1.28 billion, which makes China Jamaica’s second-largest trading partner.

According to Ambassador Chen, the future holds great potential for both countries to improve cooperation in trade and investments, new energy, agriculture and fisheries, digital economy, the blue economy, and other fields.