NASSAU, The Bahamas (CMC) – China has dismissed comments made by the United States Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, to leaders of the Organization of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS) and The Bahamas saying they “revealed ideological bias and disrespect and ignorance of the basic norms in international relations”.

Rubio met with the Caribbean leaders on Tuesday and according to the US State Department spokesperson, Tammy Bruce, “Rubio urged our partners to make responsible, transparent decisions when selecting vendors and contractors for critical infrastructure projects, ensuring they are not vulnerable to privacy and security risks and exploitation by malign actors like the Chinese Communist Party”.

Bahamas Prime Minister Phillip Davis, speaking on his return confirmed that the meeting discussed the integrity of critical infrastructure projects in the Caribbean.

“Secretary Rubio encouraged all leaders present to avoid choosing infrastructure partners who could pose security or data privacy risks, a point we take seriously,” Davis said.

Dominica’s Prime Minister, Roosevelt Skerrit, in an interview with his Government Information Service (GIS) in Roseau, said regarding the presence of China in the region and more particularly, its diplomatic relations with Roseau, “the United States of America has a relationship with China.”

“I think some of the things that people speak about our relationship with China are sometimes misplaced. China has been… and continues to be a major ally in our economic and social development.”

“We have always maintained our relationship with China in a very transparent way. Our relationship with China is no different to that of our relationship with any country in the world, whether it’s a European country or an African country or a Caribbean country,” Skerrit added.

In a statement, the Chinese embassy in The Bahamas said that “China firmly opposes” the comments by Rubio, adding that “these comments which revealed ideological bias and disrespect and ignorance of the basic norms in international relations.

“Chinese-invested projects, whether ports or other facilities, aim to address local development needs, foster economic growth, and create employment opportunities,” Beijing said.

“The Caribbean countries are not spheres of influence of any nation. The outdated Cold War mentality and zero-sum game thinking should be abandoned and an open and inclusive approach should be adopted toward China’s cooperation with Latin America, the Caribbean, and The Bahamas. The world is vast enough to accommodate the common development and shared progress of all nations,” the Chinese Embassy added.