A Dominican official has said that bilateral ties with China are expected to be strengthened with the official visit of the island nation’s prime minister this month.
Dominican Prime Minister Roosevelt Skerrit is paying an official visit to China from March 23 to 29 at the invitation of Premier Li Qiang of China's State Council.
“Dominicans would expect that the ties between China and Dominica will be strengthened during this visit,” said Queen Felixia Thomas, District Education Officer of the Ministry of Education and Human Resource Development in Dominica, and Acting President of the Dominica-China Friendship Association.
Thomas told GDToday on Wednesday that the Dominican people hope to find new ways to further collaborate and support each other, especially for the advancement of technology.
Mutual respect boosts fruitful cooperation
Thomas believes that the exemplary relationship between Dominica and China demonstrates how modernized countries and smaller developing islands can collaborate and lend support to each other. "It is all because of mutual respect," said Thomas.
This year marks the 20th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries.
Thomas has witnessed collaboration in fields such as health, agriculture, education, infrastructure construction, and economic development.
"We have the Dominica China Friendship Hospital which was recently constructed, and we also received tremendous support from China during the Pandemic and post-hurricane Maria in 2017. In terms of agriculture, Chinese experts conduct training and lend support to local farmers. And I have been privileged to see this very practical training in action," said Thomas.
As a District Education Officer in Dominica, she has seen over a hundred students earning academic and professional degrees at various levels in China. And in Dominica, six new schools are being reconstructed under the China Aid Project in support of Dominica's effort to build resilient schools after the impact of Hurricane Maria, including five primary schools and one secondary school.
Chinese modernization’s human-nature harmony benefits the world
In Thomas's opinion, China's modernization brings a sense of inspiration to global economic development. She highlighted the idea of modernization that features human-nature harmony, which is significant, especially considering the impact of climate change across the world.
She took Category 5 Hurricane Maria as an example, which landed in Dominica in 2017 with a speed of 260 km per hour. The destruction was significant, and it took a long time for the country to recover. "We have experienced hurricanes before, but now we have much stronger storms."
Thomas noted that it is important for all countries to work together on issues that affect global warming and climate change.
China has been investing heavily by leveraging its resources, technology, and workforce to transform itself into an environmentally friendly country. In 2023, the country's renewable energy capacity, which includes wind power, solar power, hydropower, and biomass energy, surpassed that of thermal power for the first time to constitute more than half of the country's installed power generation capacity.
In addition, Thomas pointed out that China is advanced regarding its innovation-driven economy. "I believe that Chinese businesses can explore business opportunities in Dominica as it relates to technology and the manufacturing of products. These will readily be welcomed by Dominicans," said Thomas.
Reporter丨Nina
Poster丨Lulu
Editor丨Steven, James
