Chinese Embassy dissatisfied with attempts to smear Guyana/China cooperation

The Chinese Embassy in Guyana says that it is “strongly dissatisfied” with what it believes to be a “predetermined agenda” of the US-based Vice News to smear and attack Guyana/China relations.

The Embassy, in a statement posted on its Facebook page, noted that Guyana’s Vice-President Dr. Bharrat Jagdeo was interviewed by a journalist from Vice News.

The Embassy, however, said: “… she (the journalist) was found to come to Guyana with a predetermined agenda and tried to smear and attack China-Guyana cooperation, as well as Chinese companies.”

As such, the Embassy said that it is “strongly dissatisfied and firmly opposed to such violation of professional ethics.”

Guyana/China cooperation was one of the areas explored during the Vice-President’s interview with Vice News. On Monday, the Vice-President uploaded the full interview on his official Facebook page.

During that interview, Jagdeo was asked to comment on Guyana/China relations, including the massive projects awarded to China under his government.

Jadeo explained that Guyana has not favoured Chinese investors nor has it benefitted from special loans from China.

“Clearly, this aggressive anti-China sentiment came through,” the Vice-President said, commenting on the interview during a briefing on Tuesday night.

Jagdeo also claimed that the Vice News journalist has a “predetermined agenda.”

“We are a small country and if you look at the interview, we do not want to be caught up in a cold-war like scenario between the United States and China,” Jagdeo said.

He added: “We believe in having friends everywhere.”

In its statement, the Chinese Embassy also said that it appreciates that the Government of Guyana upholds the One-China principle and keeps developing cordial relations with China.

“China-Guyana friendly cooperation, featuring equality, mutual benefit, innovation, openness, and benefits for the people, is in accordance with the interests of the two countries and two peoples, not against any third party, nor should it be influenced by a third party,” the Embassy said.

The Embassy also vouched for Chinese companies in Guyana, stating that these companies are following the local laws, international practices, and market rules, participating in big projects through open and fair competitions, which is beyond reproach.