President of China Xi Jinping and his wife Peng Liyuan arrived in Trinidad at 6.56 pm yesterday to a 21-gun salute. Xi will be in T&T for a three-day official visit. He and his wife arrived under a brisk heavy shower which prevented them from disembarking Air China for a few moments. On arrival he was met by President Anthony Carmona and Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar after which he was given a 21-gun salute. He and his wife were then introduced by Persad-Bissessar to Government ministers.
Xi then inspected the guard of honour after which he witnessed the Defence Force Steel Orchestra’s rendition of Black Stalin’s Ah Feel To Party. He is expected to have a busy schedule during his short visit. President Xi will pay a courtesy call on Carmona today at 9 am at the National Academy for the Performing Arts, Port-of-Spain.
Two hours later, he will visit Persad-Bissessar at the Diplomatic Centre, St Ann’s, for bilateral talks. That meeting will be followed by a news conference at the same venue and a luncheon. He is to attend a state banquet at the Hilton Trinidad and Conference Centre, St Ann’s, this afternoon.
Tomorrow, the last day of his visit, the Chinese leader will meet with heads of Caribbean nations with which his country has diplomatic relations. At 4 pm he and Persad-Bissessar will unveil a commencement stone at the site for the Couva children’s hospital and multi-training facility. In a brief interview last night at the diplomatic lounge of Piarco International Airport, Persad-Bissessar said during Xi’s visit China and T&T will be dealing with matters which included climate change and energy issues.
In an interview earlier in the day, Energy Minister Kevin Ramnarine said energy would feature prominently in bilateral talks. Ramnarine said Xi’s visit signals a significant and positive shift in relations between both countries. Ramnarine said it was the first by such a high-profile leader since diplomatic relations between both countries in 39 years. “Energy is set to feature very prominently in the bilateral meetings...I will be part of those discussions,” he said.
“One of the issues that, of course, will be raised is China’s dependence on energy. It’s, of course, growing as their economy grows. China is now the largest consumer of energy. The second largest consumer of energy in the world is America. Most of that energy in China is coming from one source, coal. “China is also the largest producer of coal in the world and they are also the largest consumer of coal in the world. Coal, of course, as you know is not the cleanest fuel and this has impacted on the environment in China.
“During the Beijing Olympics there was talk about the smug in Beijing. That has a lot to do with the fact that they burn so much coal. So there is a strategy in China to move the country away from coal and towards natural gas and renewable energy.” The minister said US Vice-President Joe Biden on his visit earlier this week made in clear that the US was no longer energy dependent.