Trying to understand what China wants of the Carib-bean has become a subject of conversation from one end of the region to the other. Whether over dinner, in boardroom meetings or among academics, there is a real interest in what China can bring, or is seeking from the region. The question is an important one as there is little antipathy towards China, but a desire to understand better where the relationship that most governments are now pursuing might lead.
For the most part, such conversations refer to the absence of information; fear of competition as Chinese companies become resident in the region and bid for contracts; occasional breakdowns in cultural understanding at a working level; and small business concerns about the impact that the increased Chinese presence in the region is having: all issues that need to be addressed.
Unfortunately, outside of government circles, what is said beyond this tends to be based on the concerns expressed in the decade-late discovery by the US media that China has been deepening its ties with the
