ROSEAU, Dominica, Mar 14, CMC – China Friday reaffirmed its commitment to the socio-economic development of Dominica while describing its relationship with Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) as following the principles of equality and mutual benefit.
Chinese Ambassador to Dominica, Chu Maoming, told a news conference that his country’s cooperation with the LAC is “South-South cooperation” and that “there is only mutual support in this cooperation, no geopolitical calculations.
“In its engagement with LAC countries, China follows the principles of equality and mutual benefit and never seeks a sphere of influence or targets any party. What people in LAC countries want is to build their own home, not to become someone’s backyard; what they aspire to is independence and self-decision”.
The Chinese diplomat said that the cooperation between Beijing and LAC countries has won popular support because it respects the will of the people, meets the needs of regional countries, and provides reliable options and broad prospects for the revitalization of the region.
He said in this new era, under the guidance of President Xi Jinping, Dominica and other countries in the LAC boosted by the China-CELAC Forum, “have produced fruitful outcomes in building the China-LAC community with a shared future and delivered benefits to all our people.
“This year marks the 10th anniversary of the formal launch of the China-CELAC Forum. China will host the Fourth Ministerial Meeting of the Forum in the first half of this year. Dominica will also send a delegation to participate.”
Maoming said that this would provide an opportunity for the two sides to come together “over the mountains and the oceans, and regardless of all disturbances, to take China-LAC cooperation to a higher level”.
The diplomat said that this year is also important for China and that President Xi is expected to make a number of overseas visits.
“Head-of-state diplomacy will write a new chapter of closer cooperation and shared success between China and the world. The Chinese Embassy will also continue to work together with the Dominican side to implement the important consensus reached during last year’s meeting between the leaders of the two countries, ensuring that the development of bilateral relations further benefits the people,” Maoming said.
“I would like to especially emphasise that the Chinese government will expand higher-standard opening up and stabilise foreign trade and investment. Regardless of changes in the external environment, we should remain steadfast in our commitment to opening up.
“We will steadily expand institutional opening up and take the initiative to open wider and advance unilateral opening up in a well-ordered way, to promote reform and development through greater openness.”
Maoming said Beijing will promote cross-border e-commerce by improving logistics services for cross-border delivery and boosting the development of overseas warehouses.
“We will expand the functions of overseas economic and trade cooperation zones, boost trade in intermediate goods, and help diversify markets. Not long ago, we hosted a delegation from Yiwu, Zhejiang, who will be responsible for building the Distribution Center of Chinese Goods in Dominica,”’ he said, adding “Currently, the project is progressing actively, and we believe that shortly, retail businesses in Dominica will enjoy greater convenience from this development.
“We will cultivate new growth drivers, such as green trade and digital trade, support provinces and cities where conditions permit in developing new types of offshore trade, and boost border trade.
“ We will host major trade events to high standards, such as the China International Import Expo, the China Import and Export Fair, the China International Fair for Trade in Services, the Global Digital Trade Expo, and the China International Consumer Products Expo. We will promote Smart Customs development and cooperation to further simplify customs clearance procedures.”
Maoming said that in recent years, Dominica has actively sent delegations to China to participate in the exhibitions “leaving a deep impression on Chinese consumers and creating business opportunities.
“ This year, we will continue to provide support for more groups from Dominica to attend exhibitions in China,” he said, adding that “we will advance both major signature projects and “small and beautiful” public well-being projects and produce several exemplary cooperative project deliverables.
He said the construction of the international airport and the post-hurricane school’s reconstruction programme are both major signature projects “in the China-Dominica Belt and Road cooperation and the brightest symbols of our partnership.
“This year, we will work closely with the government of Dominica to advance project construction with “Chinese speed” and “Chinese quality,” actively responding to the expectations of the people.
“Additionally, “small and beautiful” projects that benefit people’s livelihoods, such as the children’s playground and the restoration of the Arawak House of Culture, are also flourishing,” the Chinese diplomat said, adding that the medical team, agricultural mission and Confucius Classroom in Dominica “will continue to provide services, all of which will continue to bring a sense of happiness to the lives of the people of Dominica”.
Maoming, who was briefing the media on some of the “key messages and major outcomes of the 2025 National Two Sessions, namely the Third Session of the 14th National People’s Congress and the Third Session of the 14th Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference, reiterated that Taiwan, which China regards as a renegade province “is an inalienable part of China’s territory.
“This is the history and the reality. This year marks the 80th anniversary of the recovery of Taiwan. Eight decades ago, the victory of the Chinese People’s War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression put Taiwan back under China’s sovereign jurisdiction.”
Maoming said both the Cairo Declaration and the Potsdam Proclamation, issued by major victorious nations of World War II, “stated in explicit terms that Taiwan is a territory that Japan had stolen from the Chinese, and shall be restored to China.
“Japan also accepted the terms of the Potsdam Proclamation and announced its unconditional surrender. All these have confirmed China’s sovereignty over Taiwan and formed an important part of the post-war international order. “
He said the United Nations later adopted a resolution “with an overwhelming majority..to restore all the lawful rights of the People’s Republic of China at the UN and expel forthwith the representatives of the Taiwan authorities from the UN and all the organizations related to it.
“Once and for all, this resolution resolved the issue of the representation of the whole of China, including Taiwan, in the UN, and precluded any possibility of creating “two Chinas” or “one China, one Taiwan.”
He said the only reference to the Taiwan region in the UN is “Taiwan, Province of China.” “Taiwan is never a country, not in the past, and never in the future. To clamour for “Taiwan independence” is to split the country, to support “Taiwan independence” is to interfere in China’s internal affairs, and to connive at “Taiwan independence” is to undermine the stability of the Taiwan Strait,” Maoming told reporters.
The diplomat said that the principle of sovereignty is the cornerstone of the UN Charter and that any country or individual “seeking “Taiwan independence” is doomed to backfire, and using Taiwan to contain China will be nothing but a futile attempt.
“China will realize reunification, and this is unstoppable,” he added.
Taiwan has diplomatic relations with a handful of Caribbean Community (CCARICOM) countries, namely St. Vincent and the Grenadines, St. Kitts-Nevis, St. Lucia, and Haiti.
CMC/cj/ir/2025