Chargé d'affaires Chen Xilai took an interview with a Freelance Journalist, Melina Harris, funded by Internews Earth Journalism Network recently. He made an in-depth introduction on the China-Guyana relations, biodiversity protection, and the Belt and Road Initiative. Here is the full transcript of the interview:

Melina Harris: Are you able to make some brief comments on the history of Guyana/China diplomatic relations approaching the 50th anniversary?

Chen Xilai: Over the past 49 years, China and Guyana have been developing bilateral relations on the basis of mutual respect, fairness and justice, and win-win cooperation, with constant ministerial and above high-level exchanges and steadily increasing bilateral trade. In 2020, trade volume between the two countries reached 570 mil USD, meaning a marvelous 78.7% growth than the year before despite the impacts of COVID-19 pandemic. The two sides have also conducted many pragmatic cooperation in various areas including public health, agriculture technology and infrastructure. In the words of Hon. Minister of Public Works, Juan Edghill, "all the transformative projects were done by the Chinese". It reflects that the development of the bilateral relations has brought tangible benefits to the two countries and the two peoples.

At the outbreak of COVID-19, China was the first bilateral partner to donate much needed medical supplies to Guyana. The equipment and testing-kits donated by the Chinese side have significantly reduced the PCR testing time in Guyana. Guyana is also the first country in the English-speaking Caribbean to receive the donated vaccines from China.

All of the stories above are testimonies that the China-Guyana friendship has overcome the geographical barriers and the test of time. China is a sincere friend of Guyana.

Melina Harris: Guyana and China have collaborated in many different areas, however Guyanese might be wondering why we have not worked more closely together in terms of knowledge sharing, technology and education, areas where China excels?

Chen Xilai: China is always open, willing and ready to share knowledge, technology, and education with Guyana. In fact, in recent years, each year there are more than 10 Guyanese students studying in China on Chinese government scholarships. China has been sending Medical Brigade to Guyana since 1993. Each batch contains about 14 professional senior doctors for Georgetown Public Hospital and Linden Hospital. They treat local patients with no charge and share knowledge and experiences with local doctors. China has also provided training classes, both in China and in Guyana, to more than 600 Guyanese in recent years.

Of course, we can do more in terms of cooperation. There are several obstacles currently, the first is the long distance, the second is the language and culture differences, and the third is the interferences from the third party. Due to some western politicians and western media constantly accusing China on distorted facts, some Guyanese were misled. But I have confidence. The Chinese indentured labourers came here in 1853. They coexisted harmoniously with the other ethnic groups of Guyana and contributed a lot to the national development of Guyana. This kind of historical ties can help us to overcome those obstacles and let Guyanese know better about the friendly, peace-loving China and Chinese people.

Melina Harris: Chinese companies are leading many industries in Guyana but there are complaints by local Guyanese who want better local content, how could the two nations address these cultural issues and create better local content for Guyanese workers?

Chen Xilai: Local content is a hot topic in Guyana. The Chinese government always encourages the overseas Chinese companies to provide more and better local contents, and fulfill their social responsibilities through employing locally, procuring locally, and sub-contracting locally. For example, Bosai bauxite company in Linden is hiring 600 locals and only a few Chinese. Chinese companies are not here to do one-off business but to aim at longer-term cooperation. As long as it is cost-effective, the Chinese companies would be willing to provide more local content. We will continue to ask the Chinese companies to abide by the laws and rules of Guyana, follow their contract obligations, and achieve the local content percentage required by the contracts. Due to the cultural differences, there could be some misunderstandings between Chinese employers and local employees, but I am convinced that all problems can be resolved through friendly communication between the two parties.

Melina Harris: China is hosting the upcoming biodiversity conference in October, how does China plan to tackle environmental crimes and exploitation?

Chen Xilai: Winning the privilege of hosting the COP15 to the UN Convention on Biological Diversity this year represents the high recognition of the international society on China's achievements of protecting biodiversity. China has always been advocating for eco-friendly development and is committed to promote the harmony of man and nature. To tackle environmental crimes and exploitation, China has taken many effective measures. China has initiated and established Ecological Conservation Red Line, which includes almost all rare and endangered species. China has promulgated and revised many relevant laws and regulations including the Environmental Protection Law amended in 2015. We have also promoted for the whole-society participation in raising the public awareness and encouraged many volunteers and NGOs to report on environmental crimes. Through all these efforts, China now sees the fastest growth of the green coverage and the wild population of the iconic threatened species, like the giant panda and the crested ibis, have seen strong increases.

Melina Harris: How might Guyana and China work together to tackle biodiversity loss?

Chen Xilai: China and Guyana both enjoy rich biodiversity and have a lot in common. We can share experiences of protecting biodiversity with each other. China values Green Development and Guyana also has its Low Carbon Development Strategy. The two nations can reach many consensus in policy making. In the meantime, people's livelihood and development rights are also vital. This year, China eliminated absolute poverty with 98.99 million rural residents in poverty all shook off poverty. During this process, there are many successful cases of combining biodiversity protection and poverty reduction that can be shared with the Guyanese side.

In international and multilateral occasions like COP15, China and Guyana are both important players and can contribute to the development of the biodiversity governance system. China is willing to work with Guyana to promote all parties to broaden consensus, move in the same direction, form an action framework that is comprehensive, balanced, ambitious and implementable, and protect common interests of mankind. We should uphold the principle of common but differentiated responsibilities, and together promote the developed countries to provide more financial and technical support to help developing countries accelerate their green and low carbon transformation.

Melina Harris: The extractive sectors are a major threat to biodiversity loss in Guyana, given that many Chinese companies are operating in these sectors, what is China doing to mitigate the impacts of biodiversity loss at the global level and more locally in terms of how Chinese companies behave overseas?

Chen Xilai: China is one of the largest contributors to the Trust Fund of the UN Convention on Biological Diversity. China has always been fulfilling its international obligations on protecting biodiversity and helping the other developing countries to cope with challenges including biodiversity loss and climate change through the Belt and Road Initiative and South South Cooperation. The BRI Environment Big Data Platform has biodiversity data in support of BRI green development projects. China also holds regular meetings with ASEAN and African countries to discuss issues related to biodiversity conservation.

China adopted the Green Mine concept in 2011 and issued Green Mining standards for 9 sectors including coal mining, oil and gas, gold mining and so on. Overseas Chinese companies also left many "green footprints" all over the world. China's Zijin Mining Group has built a Green Mine in Democratic Republic of Congo and was highly commended by local residents. The company greened-up the mining places, resolved air pollution problem, and made the place "a paradise for migratory birds".

China also presented the Green Investment Principles for the BRI together with the U.K., urging companies to fulfill their social responsibilities by protecting environment.

Melina Harris: Guyana has signed onto China's Belt and Road Initiative in order to develop infrastructure badly needed in the country, however critics say the Belt and Road Initiative causes massive biodiversity loss and could leave the country hugely indebted. For China, what is the aim of the Belt and Road Initiative and what benefits are there for Guyana and China?

Chen Xilai: The so-called "debt trap" caused by the Belt and Road Initiative is groundless. Those critics are actually trying to smear China out of their hidden political agenda. In fact, not a single country is in debt crisis because of China. The claims of "China's money is not good while money from other countries and international financial agencies is good" are truly ridiculous.

In 2013, Chinese President Xi Jinping presented the BRI and so far more than 170 countries and international organizations have joined it. This number itself clearly demonstrats how popular and welcomed the BRI is. BRI has five priorities, namely policy coordination, infrastructure connectivity, unimpeded trade, financial integration, and people-to-people ties. The BRI cooperation between China and other governments is in a mutually respectful manner and under the principles of extensive consultation, joint contribution, and shared benefits. Facts have proved that BRI is a road of prosperity. As the World Bank predicts, BRI projects could help lift 7.6 million people from extreme poverty and 32 million people from moderate poverty by 2030.

BRI is also a road of green development. In Kenya, when building the Nairobi-Malaba Railway, the Chinese company chose the design to build a bridge over the Nairobi National Park after many consultations so that the wild animals can have an eco-corridor, minimizing the influence to the biodiversity. China also introduced the sustainable agricultural model of co-farming of rice and fish to countries in South East Asia so that they can better use the limited resources of land and water, significantly reduce chemical inputs, protect biodiversity and also ensure a stable production. There are many more similar examples around the world.

I hope my Guyanese friends can keep their own critical thinking, do not buy the rhetoric of some biased media reports, and learn more about the real BRI.

Melina Harris: What do the next 50 years of Guyana/China diplomatic relations look like?

Chen Xilai: Currently, China is marching toward a new journey of building China into a great modern socialist country in all respects and its new stage of development. Guyana is also standing on a critical turning point of transformation socially and economically and is about to become a middle-to-high income country. There will be more opportunities for the development of the China-Guyana relations and more potentials for us to tap into. As two important developing countries, China and Guyana should make a bigger cake, release more potential that benefits both. From the conversation of our two Presidents, we can say our two governments are both people-centered and committed to improve people's livelihood. We have much in common in our governance notions and our policies. I believe that we can carry on our cordial friendship, continue to enhance bilateral cooperation and exchanges in various areas including infrastructure, agricultural, public health, and education, escalate our relations to a new high, and together build a brighter future for the next 50 years.