Jamaica lures China to invest in logistics industry

Jamaican Prime Minister Portia Simpson Miller said on Friday her country welcomed Chinese investment in the Caribbean island's logistics industry. Investment will help enhance Jamaica's position as a global logistics center. At a Sino-Jamaica trade symposium, the prime minister highlighted the island's position as a gateway to South America and Caribbean regions. With the expanding Panama Canal, Jamaica will benefit from increasing traffic and develop itself into a base for product storing, distribution and manufacturing. She hoped China could share the opportunities and team up with Jamaica to produce world class products and services. China mainly invests in Jamaica's infrastructures and sugar industry, but the island anticipates more in agriculture, tourism and telecommunications, she said. Wan Jifei, head of the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade, said bilateral business is highly complimentary and has potential. In 2012, Jamaica became China's largest trading partner of the English-speaking countries in the Caribbean region. Bilateral trade grew 117.9 percent year on year to 820 million U.S. dollars.