Senator the Honourable Paula Gopee-Scoon, Minister of Trade and Industry, met with a delegation from the Jiangsu Provincial People’s Government, China, which was led by Mr. Fang Wei, Vice Governor of the Provincial government. The meeting took place today, Friday 7 March, 2025, at the Ministry of Trade and Industry’s Head Office, Port of Spain. This visit follows Minister Gopee-Scoon leading a delegation to China in November 2023 to participate in several major events, including a promotional investment tour of Jiangsu Province.
Minister Gopee-Scoon underscored the efforts of the Government of Trinidad and Tobago to promote and facilitate trade and investment with China, and recognized the importance of 51 years of diplomatic relations between both countries. She welcomed the interest by Jiangsu officials, and pointed to several benefits of investing in Trinidad and Tobago, including the country’s economic strength, political stability, highly educated population, tariff-free access to numerous markets, and the new investment-friendly Special Economic Zones (SEZ) regime.
Mr. Wei reiterated the strong relations between both countries and the desire to further reinforce economic and cultural ties at the Provincial level. To illustrate this, the Jiangsu Provincial People’s Government donated TT$300,000 to the upcoming Steelpan Tuner Apprenticeship Programme. The programme, which will be driven by the Ministry of Trade and Industry and implemented by the MIC-Institute of Technology, aims to foster entrepreneurship in the steelpan industry, while preserving the cultural heritage of pan manufacturing and development.
Jiangsu has the highest GDP per capita and second-highest GDP of Chinese provinces, after Guangdong. In December 2024, Jiangsu Province was 3rd in total exports from China and 4th in total imports into China. The exports from this region are largely technology-based, and include products such as smartphones, memory integrated circuits, portable computers, and lithium-ion batteries. The Vice Governor underscored the Jiangsu’s interest in increasing imports from Trinidad and Tobago.
Also in attendance in the bilateral discussions were Mr. Si Yong, Director-General of Jiangsu Provincial Department of Commerce; Mr. Liu Jiandong, Vice Director-General of Jiangsu Provincial Foreign Affairs Office; Ms. Wang Hongwei, Director of Division of American and Oceanian Affairs, Jiangsu Provincial Foreign Affairs Office; Mr. Yang Han, Chargé d’Affaires, Embassy of China to Trinidad and Tobago; Professor Clément A.C. Imbert, Chairman of MIC Institute of Technology; Mr. Randall Karim, Permanent Secretary (Ag), Ministry of Trade and Industry (MTI); and Mrs. Ava Mahabir-Dass, Deputy Permanent Secretary (Ag.), MTI.
