The following is the full speech by Chinese Ambassador Chen Daojiang:

Time flies after I set foot on this beautiful island, Jamaica, for the first time in May 2022, when my life was closely connected with the pearl of the Caribbean.

As the 16th Chinese Ambassador to Jamaica, I bear the heavy responsibility and glorious mission to promote China-Jamaica strategic partnership to a new level and deliver more achievements.

I have marched forward with solid steps in the past two years, leaving my footprints across different communities from urban to rural areas. Through in-depth exchanges and interactions with the Jamaican people during my tenure, the long-lasting history and the rich content of the China-Jamaica friendship gradually unveiled in front of my eyes.

In my spare time, I have climbed the scenic Blue Mountains, watched the stunning sunset, enjoyed the crystal-clear sea and tasted the aromatic coffee.

The unique and charming culture of Jamaica became my love at first sight. More excitingly, under the joint efforts of the governments and the peoples of the two countries, the China-Jamaica relationship has become more fruitful and thus stands as a proud example of country-to-country friendly exchanges. 

The past two years have witnessed the bilateral relationship grow from strength to strength. Under the care and support of [both] leaders, the political mutual trust between China and Jamaica has been deepened, consolidating our strategic partnership. The two sides have always been reinforcing mutual understanding and support on issues involving each other’s core interests and concerns, setting up a good practice of developing countries’ friendly exchanges.

In 2022, our heads of state and government respectively exchanged congratulatory messages on the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between our countries.

In January this year, Wang Yi, a member of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee and Minister of Foreign Affairs of China, paid a successful visit to Jamaica.

He reached a series of important consensus with Andrew Holness, the Jamaican prime minister, and Senator Kamina Johnson Smith, the Jamaican foreign minister, sending a strong message of the positive future of bilateral relationship development.

The past two years have witnessed the bilateral pragmatic cooperation move forward in a sound pace. Jamaica is an important trade partner of China in the Caribbean region and the first country in the Western Hemisphere to sign the cooperation plan on the Belt and Road Initiative.

Nowadays the bilateral trade cooperation has been accelerating its development and breakthroughs have been made constantly under the Belt and Road framework. Chinese companies have made a cumulative investment of US$2.1 billion, creating over 40,000 jobs directly. Landmark projects that of huge importance to Jamaican’s livelihood, such as the Western Children’s Hospital and South Coastal Highway, are being carried forward according to plans. More and more Chinese companies adopt long-term visions to share advanced experience and technologies with Jamaican partners, making important contributions to Jamaican society.

The past two years have witnessed the people-to-people exchanges recover in a comprehensive manner. Good friends feel close to each other even when they are far apart. The long geographical distance could never be barrier for people from two countries to know and be close to each other.

The end of the COVID-19 pandemic has given way to the fast track of the development of people-to-people exchanges. More than 10 delegations across different departments from China including the People’s Congress of Beijing Municipality, Shandong provincial government and the Chinese People’s Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries visited Jamaica.

In the meantime, Chinese Embassy in Jamaica has been working on enhancing people-to-people connectivity. Hundreds of students have gained scholarships to study in China and more than 3000 Jamaicans have got opportunities for short-term training in China. Signature programmes such as “Chinese Ambassador’s Scholarship” and “Family of China-Jamaica Friendship” are bringing warmth from China to Jamaican friends in need and writing new chapters of friendship between the two peoples.

The world landscape today is undergoing a profound transformation where international political disturbances and military conflicts are pervasive, and global development and security situations are becoming more complicated. Human society is confronted with multiple challenges. In this changing and turbulent international environment, Chinese President Xi Jinping pointed out that although this is an era fraught with challenges, it is also an era brimming with hope.

This year marks the 75th anniversary of the establishment of the People’s Republic of China.

Chinese people have embarked on a new path to advance the rejuvenation of the Chinese nation on all fronts through a Chinese path to modernisation.

At the same time, Jamaica is on its journey to “Re-igniting a Nation for Greatness”.

The time when two visions and two great paths spontaneously met has provided valuable chances and hope for the two countries to continue their traditional friendship and march forward together. China wishes to, together with Jamaica, remain staunch forces for peace, stability and progress of the world.

Standing on the past achievements and looking ahead to new heights, I firmly believe that the China-Jamaica strategic partnership will be further raised to a new level and the China-Jamaica traditional friendship will be consolidated and refreshed, as long as our two countries continue enhancing political mutual trust, deepening practical cooperation, strengthening the people-to-people exchanges, and working together to promote the high-quality Belt and Road cooperation.

Let’s contribute our wisdom and efforts together to jointly usher in a more promising future of China-Jamaica relations, and write another beautiful chapter of a community with a shared future for China and Jamaica in the new era!