By Gavin Riley in Beijing

Kelli-Dawn Hamilton, head of Jamaica’s delegation at the 2024 Ministerial Conference of the fourth China-Caribbean Economic and Trade Cooperation Forum, says the country is eyeing greater foreign direct investment (FDI) from its East Asian partner—in line with boosting prospects for macroeconomic growth and national development. 

In an exclusive interview with Our Today after the first in a series of high-level talks in Hainan Province on Friday (September 13), Hamilton explained that while adopting a regional approach to discussions during the three-day conference, Jamaica will be keen to broaden FDI inflows into large-scale special economic zones (SEZs) and agriculture.

Hosted by the Ministry of Commerce of the People’s Republic of China, the conference saw the attendance of foreign ministers and high-ranking technocrats from 11 Caribbean countries and Haiti as an observer. 

“It is critical for Jamaica to be a part of these conversations because China is one of our major trading partners but also [because of] the opportunities to further deepen foreign direct investments from China to Jamaica,” she said.

“We have over 120,000 hectares of land that we want to dedicate to the development of agricultural expansion. And so, being here to participate in the discussions with our Chinese counterparts is definitely important. The discussions, so far, have been very good,” Hamilton told Our Today.

Chinese Ambassador Chen Daojiang revealed earlier this year that China remains Jamaica’s second-largest trading partner. 

From January to November 2023, exports to China reached US$1.172 billion, a year-on-year increase of 24.8 per cent. 

Hamilton, CEO of the Jamaica Special Economic Zones Authority (JSZEA) within the Ministry of Investment and Commerce, told Our Today that the consensus for a deeper partnership with China was unanimous among attending Caribbean representatives.

“We take advantage of the fact that we are all here. We don’t compete, we ‘co-pete’. We must come together with a unified voice to present our opportunity as a Caribbean region not just for investment but for trade and economic growth and development,” she asserted.

“Our position is to see more infrastructural development, more foreign direct investment and, critically, improving upon the ability of our business people to [capitalise] on advantages presented by China in relation to investment and trade,” the JSEZA chief executive added.

Hamilton was, however, reserved in her reaction to Xi Jinping’s announcement of a trade lifeline to least-developed countries (LDCs) at the recently concluded Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) Summit, where countries diplomatically aligned with Beijing would now be offered “zero-tariff treatment for 100 per cent tariff lines”. 

The decision potentially broadens trade prospects with an ‘opening’ China, particularly in Hainan Province, which is transforming itself into the world’s largest, ultra-modern free trade port. 

“Any opportunity to increase trade is something that we look forward to taking advantage of. We would have to assess from our end what that means for us, and where the specific opportunities lie,” she said.

“We produce a range of products in different areas and it would be key for us to highlight and identify what makes sense for Jamaica and the region,” Hamilton told Our Today.

Established in 2004 with Jamaica as the inaugural host, the China-Caribbean Economic and Trade Cooperation Forum stands as the highest-level dialogue mechanism between the governments of China and the Caribbean.