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The Compass: Stories From The New Silk Road: The Americas: Stories from the New Silk Road: Jamaica

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Stories from the New Silk Road: Jamaica

16/11/2022 GMT

Stories From The New Silk Road: The Americas

BBC World Service - The Compass, Stories From The New Silk Road: The Americas, Stories from the New Silk Road: Jamaica

From mega-projects to medicine, who benefits from Jamaica’s relationship with China?

China’s Medical Silk Road has helped Jamaica through the Covid-19 pandemic whilst its ‘Belt and Road initiative’ has led to a construction boom. But at what cost?

From highways to hospitals, Chinese construction firms continue to work on a number of high-profile projects across Jamaica. In the face of soaring debts they have not proceeded without controversy, with particular criticism of the use of Chinese labour for jobs that Jamaicans might do, and concerns of so-called ‘debt-trap diplomacy’.

‘Highway 2000’ is a 66 kilometre motorway connecting Kingston and Montego Bay funded by a loan of over 700 million dollars, and built by a Chinese contractor. It is just one of a series of Chinese mega-projects in Jamaica, who have received more loans from the Chinese government than any other Caribbean island nation, officially joining China’s Belt and Road initiative in 2019.

Meanwhile, the Covid pandemic has led to Jamaica’s deepest economic contraction in decades, due in part to the drop in tourism earnings, which account for more than 30% of GDP and over a third of all jobs. Yet through the ‘Medical Silk Road’, China has helped Jamaica during one of the most turbulent times in its history.

The BBC’s South America correspondent Katy Watson explores what impact Chinese aid and infrastructure is having on Jamaica.

(Photo: Construction in progress for foundations of hotel development in Jamaica. Credit: Getty Images)

The Compass: Stories From The New Silk Road: The Americas

With new aspirations across the Americas, the majority of countries in Latin America and the Caribbean have joined President Xi’s ambitious Belt and Road Initiative. From Ecuador, Panama, Jamaica and Mexico, the BBC’s South America correspondent Katy Watson examines its impact on the region.

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