At an academic meeting, Professor Roger Hosein from the University of the West Indies raised the need for a site to identify which products the area can supply to China to meet the high demands of its consumers.
Hosein even recommended that the specialized center be at the level of the Caribbean Community and accessible to all CARICOM’s member States, but also advocated extending the idea to trade with India because of its growth projections in medium and long terms.
Meanwhile, Mark Wenner from the University of the Virgin Islands referred to the potential of bringing more bauxite, hydrocarbons, and wood from the Caribbean into the Chinese market, after warning that coffee is making its way into the taste of that population. He added that producing nations such as Jamaica could use it to step up exports.
Wenner further mentioned the existing chances in tourism and culture, thanks to the diversity of traditions, autochthonous rhythms, artistic expressions, and the natural beauty of the different islands of the region.
However, those and other voices agreed that a truly effective strategy must be outlined, and there is still a long way to go if the Caribbean is to attract and maintain the preference of the Chinese traveler.
It would entail creating new products or adapting others to the tastes of those visitors, who, like Indians, have their peculiarities and are interested in more options than the traditional sun and beach destinations.
Likewise, scholars noted that it would be valuable for the area to take into account and study in depth the experiences within the Silk Road and Belt Initiative, promoted by Beijing as a mega-network of infrastructure and mutually beneficial cooperation among its members. “China represents an opportunity, it is a rising power. We have to be smart and prepared to interact well. We have to focus on institutions that will catapult our trade possibilities and competitiveness,” Wenner commented, stressing the role of leaders and the private sector in that endeavor.
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