Abstract Four 2013

GLOBAL

DEVELOPMENT STUDIES

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Volume Seven Winter-Spring 2012-2013 Numbers 1-2.

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LEVERAGING CHINESE ENGAGEMENT IN THE CARIBBEAN: WHAT OPPORTUNITIES EXIST FOR THE

DEVELOPMENT OF SUSTAINABLE RENEWAL ENERGY INDUSTRIES?

Debbie A. Mohammed

David Anyanwu

Institute of International Relations,

The University of the West Indies

St. Augustine, Trinidad

Published online: February 10, 2017

ABSTRACT

China’s engagement with the Caribbean has intensified over the last decade and coincides with its ascendance as a global economic and political powerhouse. Chinese investments, particularly in resource-rich countries such as Guyana, Suriname, and Trinidad and Tobago, have grown exponentially. Although the current trading relationship is dominated by Chinese investment in the extractive industries of Caribbean countries and the export of these primary products to China where production and value added activities occurs, China-CARICOM relations have been otherwise multifaceted in nature. While the motivations for China’s intensified engagement with CARICOM countries have been the subject of much debate, this article contends that Chinese investments in resource-intensive industries represent significant revenue and employment sources for Caribbean countries. It examines the potential for channeling Chinese investments into development of new growth industries such as renewable energy using the CARICOM-China economic framework as a model. This article seeks to identify potential mechanisms for building on CARICOM-China cooperation and for broadening the academic discourse on China-developing country engagements.