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Ambassador Guo Haiyan took an interview by the Times Media Group
2022-05-11 01:19

On May 6, 2022, Ambassador Guo Haiyan visited the Times Media Group (TMG) and took an interview by iNews Guyana, the online media within the TMG, on China-Guyana relations, economic and trade cooperation, corporate investment, among others.

When asked about Chinese investors' interest in Guyana, Ambassador Guo answered in the affirmative. "Guyana has been on the track of rapid economic growth, attracting the attention of investors from many countries around the world, including China. China and Guyana are opportunities for each other's development, as the two economies are highly complementary. Guyana has huge demand and enormous potential for development, while China has a broad market and advanced and practical technologies. The government of China encourages Chinese companies to explore cooperation opportunities with Guyanese partners."

Regarding facilitating investors, Ambassador Guo emphasized that the Embassy is here to facilitate cooperation between China and Guyana in various fields but the investment cooperation will follow market rules. "On investment, the functions of the Embassy include: Firstly, to introduce to the relevant Chinese authorities and agencies about the economic outlook and policy direction of Guyana, as well as update regularly the Guidelines for Investment and Cooperation in Guyana to the general public. According to our observation, the Guyanese government has given priority to energy, transportation, electricity, agricultural production and processing, health care, tourism and so on; Secondly, to encourage engagements of investment promotion agencies from both sides; Thirdly, to guide Chinese companies here to do business in compliance with local laws and regulations, and fulfill their social responsibilities and to help safeguard the companies' legitimate rights and interests," she noted.

When asked about Chinese investment in Guyana's agriculture sector, Ambassador Guo pointed out that the agricultural cooperation between China and Guyana started many years ago, and since Guyana enjoys good condition for agricultural development, there is potential for expanding agricultural cooperation between the two sides.

When asked about the concerns of the Chinese side, Ambassador Guo assured that China and Guyana regard each other as important partner, thus, the Chinese side believes the Guyanese government will continue to create a level playing business environment. She also mentioned that some Chinese companies may have concerns about the lack of local skilled workers.

Ambassador Guo also introduced the achievements and latest progress of China-Guyana pragmatic cooperation projects in recent years. She specifically talked about the bilateral cooperation against COVID-19. "Since the outbreak of COVID-19, the Chinese government has donated 16 batches of medical supplies to the Guyanese government, including vaccines. Guyana is the first country in the Caribbean receiving China-donated vaccine." She noted that since 1993, China has dispatched 17 Medical Teams to Guyana and never stopped its medical aids.

When talking about the future collaboration between the two countries, Ambassador Guo said that China attaches great importance to personnel training and capacity building and is planning more training programs suitable for Guyana's needs. She further noted that besides bilateral channel, China and Guyana can also take advantages of regional and international cooperation platforms such as the China-Caribbean Development Center, and cooperate under the framework of the Belt and Road Initiative, Global Development Initiatives, etc. "Half a century ago, Guyana took the lead in the English-speaking Caribbean to establish diplomatic relations with China. We are happy to see Guyana is playing a more and more important role in the region. And we are ready to work together with Guyana for better cooperation between China and the Caribbean countries," said Ambassador Guo.

When asked about the current travel between the two countries, Ambassador Guo expressed her understanding of the challenges brought by the pandemic to the face-to-face exchanges between the two sides and further remarked, "There are still frequent contacts by virtual link. We are ready to resume people-to-people exchanges at all levels gradually when the COVID-19 situation turns better." When asked about the possibility of direct flights, Guo said, the first step is to resume flights and the possibility of direct flights depends on the market.

The interview video and related reports can be found in the Evening News of TMG TV channel, the website and social media of iNews, and the daily newspaper Guyana Times.

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