KINGSTOWN, St. Vincent, CMC – Prime Minister Dr. Ralph Gonsalves says he held “an excellent discussion on a wide range of issues” with a representative of the Chinese government during last Friday’s eighth Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC) summit.
St. Vincent and the Grenadines have diplomatic relations with Taiwan. China considers a renegade province and has vowed to make it part of its “One China” policy. Beijing has not ruled out the use of force in its reunification ambitions.
Kingstown invited China, several countries, and regional, hemispheric, and international organizations to join the 33 CELAC member states at the summit.
Gonsalves did not identify the China representative by name but said the envoy requested a bilateral meeting with him as pro tempore president of CELAC.
“I had a breakfast meeting at the Official Residence of the Prime Minister. I didn’t hold the bilateral at the Office of the Prime Minister. We do not have diplomatic relations but good relations,” Gonsalves said.
“As I said, we work with the Mainland Chinese in the CDB (Caribbean Development Bank), the World Bank, the IMF (International Monetary Fund), and the Group of 77,” he said.
“We worked at the United Nations when we (St. Vincent and the Grenadines) were on the Security Council. We worked with them because they’re a permanent member. And we respectfully disagree on some things because, as I repeatedly said, we will have relations with them if they do not make the demand that we break our relations with our allies, the Republic of China on Taiwan.”
Gonsalves said he and the Chinese representative “had an excellent discussion on a wide range of issues,” adding, “I think people in St. Vincent and Grenadines will see the sophisticated manner in which we conduct our foreign policy but simultaneously very conscientious.
“You have heard me about how I admire the Chinese civilization. Politically, a fracture took place in 1949,” he said, referring to the civil war that brought the communist party to power and forced the nationalists to retreat to Taiwan.
“And they will solve that problem among themselves. I told him that I’m interested in peace across the Taiwan Straits.”
Gonsalves said he and the Chinese representative also talked “about CELAC matters,” even as he raised the possibility of asking why he invited China to the summit since the island does not have diplomatic relations with Taiwan.
“Well, my constituency in CELAC has 33 member states. Twenty-six have diplomatic relations with mainland China and have always been invited. I can’t now put our national policy regarding Taiwan above them.
“In any event, the Secretary General of the United Nations (Antonio Guterres) probably would have [had] to consider if I had not invited a member of the United Nations which traditionally had been invited to these events,” he said, of the UN chief, who attended the summit in person and spoke during the opening ceremony.
“Yet the daughter of the Taiwanese ambassador here was one of the young dancers in the dance group at the reception, dancing like a Vincy girl, a teenager who is here,” Gonsalves said.
“So, you note how we do our business. And you can’t complain. And when we explain everything as it happens. We do so honestly, truthfully, and respectfully to everyone. But we have our traditional links with the Republic of China and Taiwan, which have been fruitful,” Prime Minister Gonsalves added.
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