China’s Embassy here has rejected statements by a US State Department official on the quality of projects done in Guyana by Chinese companies.
On Monday, the Chinese Embassy in Georgetown issued a statement which appeared to be a reference to remarks on X, formerly Twitter, by Assistant Secretary of State for Western Hemisphere Affairs, Juan Pablo Segura but it did not name him.
“We have noted that a certain U.S. State Department official recently used his personal social media account to smear and attack projects undertaken by Chinese companies in Guyana. Such remarks disregard the facts and constitute political manipulation and malicious smears against normal China-Guyana economic and trade cooperation. The Chinese Embassy in Guyana firmly opposes them.
“Chinese companies have been part of Guyana’s development for many years, investing in the country and contributing to its modernization. From the Bharrat Jagdeo Demerara River Bridge and the China-Guyana Friendship Joe Vieira Park to the Six Regional Hospitals, Those projects have helped improve infrastructure, create jobs and support economic and social development, earning broad recognition across Guyanese society”, the Embassy stated.
The statement took a veiled swipe at the United States.
“A true friend is not someone who stands at a distance and tells you who you should or should not work with. A true friend is someone who stands with you when you need support, brings opportunities when you are moving forward, and works with you, on the basis of mutual respect, to get things done. A certain country might be better served by reflecting on itself rather than pointing fingers at others. Guyana and other countries in Latin America and the Caribbean have every right to choose their own partners and pursue the path of development that works best for them, free from outside interference. We oppose any attempt to politicize normal trade and economic cooperation or cast it in ideological terms”, the Embassy declared.
The Embassy added that facts have shown, and will continue to show, that China is a trustworthy friend and partner of Guyana, and that Chinese companies are important participants in Guyana’s development.
“We stand ready to further deepen practical cooperation with Guyana across various fields and deliver more tangible and accessible benefits to our two countries and peoples”, the Embassy said.
Segura’s remarks and the Embassy statement are the latest salvoes in a contest between Washington and Beijing for influence and business here. The US recently upped the ante when it was announced that its Department of War would take a stake in a bauxite company at Bonasika. Details of this arrangement have been sparse.
Segura in his post on X had scoffed at the quality of work by Chinese companies on several projects in South America including Guyana’s Cheddi Jagan International Airport (CJIA). He cited a hydroelectric dam in Ecuador “that is costly, poorly built, and exhibits faults”.
Kiskadee Watch reported on this Ecuador project on August 29 in the context of a corruption case which ensnared a former President of Ecuador and a former Chinese Ambassador to Ecuador. Former Ecuadorean President Lenin Moreno was jailed on August 28 for five years and banned from holding public office in the case that involved China’s former ambassador and where bribes were taken from a Chinese company that has done business with Guyana
An Ecuadorean court found Moreno guilty in the bribery case tied to the construction of the Andean country’s largest hydroelectric plant, the public prosecutor’s office ?said.
Moreno, 73, was sentenced to five years in prison and has been permanently barred from holding any public office in the future, Reuters reported.
The attorney general’s office launched the investigation in March 2023, linking Moreno, family members and local and Chinese business partners, including China’s former ambassador to Ecuador, to an alleged corruption network tied to the construction of the ?Coca Codo Sinclair plant. The plant which began operating in 2016 has experienced technical problems since.
“Lenin Moreno’s conduct is consistent with the charges brought by the prosecution: the crime of bribery attributed to a public official,” Judge Manuel Cabrera, head of the tribunal, said while delivering the ruling.
Reuters said that his wife and daughter, as well as his two brothers and sisters-in-law were also found guilty, and were sentenced to two years and six months in prison. China’s former ambassador to Quito, Cai Runguo, was also jailed for five years.
Prosecutors had requested sentences ?of ?more than six years for Moreno and 19 other defendants. According to the attorney general’s office, Sinohydro paid approximately US$76.1 million in bribes between 2009 and 2018 through fraudulent consulting contracts.
Reuters said that investigators alleged the funds were routed via overseas bank accounts and shell companies in tax havens to Moreno’s family and business ?associates. The prosecution said Moreno and his close relatives received more than US$1 million while he served as vice president from 2007 to 2013.
Moreno, 73, has consistently denied the allegations, maintaining he had no involvement ?in signing or overseeing the project’s contracts, Reuters said.
Moreno, who served as president from 2017 to 2021, returned to Ecuador from Paraguay to face the trial.
Sinohydro has had a number of links in Guyana and has been described as a state-owned hydropower, engineering, and construction firm.
Zijin Mining, had contracted the company for stripping works at its gold mining site at Aurora in Region Seven in 2020. It has also undertaken construction work here and engaged in trucking among other things. It has also bid for government contracts.
Segura also cited Guyana’s CJIA that he said was “affected by more than a decade of construction delays and cost overruns. Our region is plagued by projects led by Chinese state-owned companies, such as Sinohydro Corporation and China Railway Group Limited, in which elements have been cut, contracts have been breached, debt has been imposed on governments, and the local environment has been harmed”.
The controversy-ridden CJIA project began in January 2013 after a secret deal in 2011 in Jamaica between the Chinese and Guyana governments for a US$150m project to be executed by the Chinese company CHEC. It straddled three governments and there were numerous controversies over costs and delays. It is not clear whether the project has finally come to an end.
Segura also referenced what he described as abandoned construction projects and “corrupt attempts to manipulate bidding processes in Peru”.
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