High level Caribbean delegation for China business visit

Top private sector executives in the tourism and investment industries in collaboration with Caribbean governments, have accepted an invitation to participate in a 10-day trade mission to four cities in China. The trip is set for September 14 to 23 and is being planned by Peter Zhang and Li Li of the Chinese American Business Development Centre (CABDC).

The trip comes on the heels of the Avalon Invest Caribbean Now Forum in New York City organised by U. S.-based Guyanese journalist Felicia Persaud, who serves as chief marketing officer of Hard Beat Communications.
Trade
CABDC has been leading trade missions for U. S. companies to China for the past 10 years while Hard Beat’s Invest Caribbean Now forum is in its third year.
The planned trip to Beijing, Shannxi, Zhejiang and Guangdong comes on the heels of Chinese President Xi Jinpings first visit to Trinidad during May where he pledged more than US$ 3 billion in loans to 10 Caribbean nations and Costa Rica on June 2.
The 2013 Caribbean/ China Trade Mission is designed to help Caribbean premiers, ministers of governments, investment agencies and C-level private sector business leaders, meet with top Chinese officials from varied ministries, such as tourism and finance.
The tour would also facilitate engagements with C-level company executives, including from the China Import Export Bank, to promote direct in-country investment opportunities and company products and services.
It is aimed at establishing strategic connections, strengthening existing relations, exploring opportunities for joint ventures, sourcing potential suppliers, extending friendships and creating relationships for return visits to the Caribbean region.
The mission will provide Caribbean governments and business leaders with new access and close-up insight into the dynamic Chinese market, including its scale, diversity, and potential.
By 2020, China will surpass the U. S. in middle-class consumption and as quickly China is emerging as a new market for Caribbean real estate and products like tourism, analysts have predicted.
Acclaim
Citing statistics that said up to 100 million Chinese will be travelling abroad by 2015, Li said the time was ripe for the Caribbean to tap into this key demographic, especially since the Chinese consumer is industrious and has spending power and “the Caribbean has garnered critical acclaim as a mecca for tourism with significant investments in that and related sectors”.
Persaud is encouraging Caribbean governments to do more to market the diverse investment stories of the region to the right people since the region is relevant.
She stated that the Caribbean region remains relevant, since 11 nations have been listed in the top 100 “ease of doing business” survey when there were only seven for Latin America and eight for Africa.