At the Beijing Olympics in August 2008, sprinter Usain Bolt commanded global attention when he set 3 world records in Beijing, making the name Jamaica famous throughout China. The island country with a population of less than 3 million is home to three of the fastest five people in history - Usain Bolt, Yohan Blake and Asafa Powell.

In recent years, relations between the two countries have continued to develop steadily, and this year marks the 47th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties between China and Jamaica.

In my first meeting with Jamaican Prime Minister Andrew Holness, he proudly recalled witnessing the blossoming friendship between China and Jamaica, having been born in 1972, the year the two countries established diplomatic ties. Our meeting proved to be a good start for what has been a most rewarding term in Jamaica.

As I learned more about Jamaica, I became more aware of its unique culture and style. Jamaica not only has the world's top sprinters, but also the Reggae and Dancehall music that has been influential in many countries across the globe. In the 1980s rock singers in China drew inspiration from Reggae music. Furthermore, in June, the Jamaican singer Junior Kelly participated in the Beijing World Expo Caribbean Music Festival.

Jamaica is also noted for its famous rum, which includes iconic brands such as Appleton which was founded in 1749 and is recognized as the second oldest rum distillery in the world. The charming fragrance and flavor of this spirit made from sugar cane has made it a rare treasure, and one of my favorite drinks.

There is so much to be said about this charming island that is also home to a warm and welcoming people, world-renowned Blue Mountain coffee, and a wealth of natural beauty that continues to attract visitors from all over.

China and Jamaica have been working together for years and our cooperation in various fields has resulted in remarkable achievements and opened a new chapter.

Jamaica was one of the earliest countries in the Caribbean region to establish diplomatic ties with China and the two sides have always respected each other's sovereignty and territorial integrity. For decades, both the Jamaica Labor Party and the People's National Party of Jamaica have adhered to the principle of one China. Furthermore, as early as 2005, the two countries had established the Friendly Partnership for Common Development.

In February 2017, China and Jamaica signed a framework agreement on capacity and investment cooperation. In April, the two sides signed a Memorandum of Understanding on Belt and Road cooperation. According to China's National Bureau of Statistics, bilateral trade volume reached $660 million last year, year-on-year increase of 16.6 percent.

In September last year, the first batch of fresh lobsters from the Caribbean was exported to China, enriching the Chinese consumer market, and further optimizing the trade relationship between China and Jamaica. Last November, two Jamaican senior ministers led a delegation to attend the first China International Import Expo, and presented high-quality Jamaican coffee, rum and other products. China's domestic companies rushed to order Blue Mountain coffee.

China's cumulative investment in Jamaica exceeds $2 billion, the largest source of foreign direct investment in the country. Nearly 20 Chinese enterprises are operating in Jamaica and they have collectively created nearly 10,000 jobs, which has been welcomed by the local government and the public.

Given the profound changes in international economic and trade patterns, Jamaica's unique geographical proximity to North, Central and South America, and its attractive business environment, Jamaica is becoming a more attractive business destination for Chinese companies. More Chinese companies are expected to enter Jamaica shortly and further promote mutually beneficial economic and trade cooperation between the two countries.

China and Jamaica have also established a mutually beneficial exchange in the field of humanities, education, sports, health and culture. This interaction is an important part of the Belt and Road cooperation.

In the fall of 2016, China's Global Institute of Software Technology in Suzhou established a partnership with the University of the West Indies Mona campus to create the UWI-China Institute of Information Technology and began enrolling students that same year. It was truly an honor to collaborate with an institution as reputable as UWI, which is considered the epicenter of regional intellectual thought and has served as an important incubator for Caribbean leaders for generations.

China-Jamaica cooperation in education is, however, not limited to the aforementioned institute. Since 2005, China has provided more than 2,000 short-term courses and full government scholarships to Jamaica. This initiative, it is hoped, will make a significant contribution to improving Jamaica's human capital and preparing the population for an increasingly globalized and competitive world.

Jamaica has also made meaningful contributions to China. As a world sports powerhouse, Jamaica has offered China extremely valuable scholarships to train many of our coaches and athletes. In turn, China has offered Jamaica a three-year sports training program which started in early 2018 and trained nearly 400 athletes in seven nontraditional sporting disciplines for Jamaica. This program has effectively improved the competitiveness of Jamaican athletes and received wide acclaim from all walks of life in Jamaica.

In April this year, China organized its second charitable eye clinics in Jamaica. Within 25 days, Chinese ophthalmologists successfully performed cataract surgery on 515 patients.

Consular protection cooperation between China and Jamaica continues to deepen, better allowing overseas Chinese and Chinese-funded enterprises in Jamaica to actively participate in many areas of the local economy.

With strong support from relevant government departments, Jamaican police have established a police liaison officer mechanism to protect overseas Chinese and Chinese-funded enterprises.

Additionally, the Consular Coordination Mechanism, consisting of the Chinese embassy and various Jamaican law enforcement agencies, Chinese-funded enterprises, and the Chinese community, holds regular working meetings to discuss and work toward preventive consular protection.

Looking back, Bolt's wonderful performance at the Beijing Olympics and the scene of 100,000 spectators singing "Happy Birthday" to him after the 200-meter event seems just like yesterday. Since then, Sino-Jamaican relations have grown significantly.

Looking forward, I am full of confidence in the development prospects of the relations between our countries. As we ring in the 70th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China, China stands ready to join hands with Jamaica and ring in a new era of even closer Sino-Jamaican bilateral relations.

The author is Chinese ambassador to Jamaica.

The author contributed this article to China Watch exclusively. The views expressed do not necessarily reflect those of China Watch.

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