China has fired again at america over criticism of a $267 million loan to The Bahamas for the development of a brand new hospital, calling U.S. accusations “baseless and absurd” and denying that the funding is a part of a geopolitical technique to deepen affect within the Caribbean.
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The Chinese language Embassy in The Bahamas issued a strongly worded assertion after U.S. Chargé d’Affaires Kim Furnish warned that China’s Caribbean investments disproportionately profit elites, result in incomplete initiatives, and saddle nations with unsustainable debt.
“Chinese language investments within the Caribbean sometimes profit elites, not the folks, leaving international locations with shoddy or incomplete initiatives and unsustainable debt to China, jeopardising their growth and sovereignty,” mentioned Furnish over the weekend. “The US Embassy will proceed to work with the Authorities of The Bahamas to allow them to make knowledgeable selections about interactions with China.”
China issued a pointy response: “Is there a U.S. mortgage proposal in any respect on the desk?” the Chinese language Embassy requested, defending the US$195 million mortgage—73 % of the entire US$267 million undertaking value—for a brand new hospital in western New Windfall. The funding is being supplied via the Chinese language Export-Import Financial institution underneath what Bahamian officers describe as “very beneficial” phrases.
The diplomatic row follows experiences that the Bahamas turned down a aggressive supply from the UK earlier this 12 months. UK Export Finance reportedly provided financing with phrases appropriate with Western medical techniques, however Bahamian officers mentioned the undertaking was already too superior for the UK bid to be thought of.
Director of Communications within the Workplace of the Prime Minister, Latrae Ramming, reiterated the federal government’s impartial stance, saying, “We don’t intend to get between the geopolitical struggle of China and america.” He additionally emphasised China’s long-standing function in The Bahamas’ growth.
In response to U.S. considerations, the Chinese language Embassy asserted that its loans include no political strings and signify solely a small share of The Bahamas’ exterior debt. “China is a reliable buddy and dependable companion of The Bahamas,” the assertion mentioned, citing comparable hospital initiatives in Trinidad and Tobago and Guyana.
The embassy additionally pushed again on Washington’s broader narrative of “debt-trap diplomacy,” arguing that Western-led monetary establishments are extra liable for growing nations’ debt burdens. Calling on the U.S. to desert its “outdated Chilly Conflict mentality,” China urged Washington to undertake a extra inclusive strategy to Caribbean growth.
“The mortgage supplied by China is long-term and really low-interest,” the assertion emphasised, framing the hospital undertaking as a purely cooperative growth effort with no hidden agenda.
