On July 6, 2022, China opened a Caribbean China-Caribbean Development Center which was inaugurated in Jinan, the capital of east China’s Shandong Province.
It was more than a symbolic gesture to the Caribbean; it was a pragmatic move that will improve the relationship that the Caribbean has with China which will overtake the US as the largest economy in the world within the next decade or less.
At this meeting, three projects were created to improve the ties between China and the Caribbean: the donation of anti-pandemic materials to the relevant countries, collaboration with Guyana on marine fisheries training, and the launch of an international information exchange platform to share successful cases of common development between the Caribbean and China.
Blue Mountain Coffee gains from booming trade
Blue Mountain Coffee is a notable company that is benefiting from the Chinese Caribbean relationship. Trade between the Caribbean and China is a sector that is at the heart of the relationship and will continue to grow if not altered by “outside forces”, you can guess who that might be.
Blue Mountain Coffee made headlines at the meeting as Chinese officials specifically pointed it out as a brand that is growing within China and is loved by residents.
“The Jamaica Blue Mountain Coffee is so charming. It is what I have been looking for,” said a comment on China’s e-commerce platform JD.com.
Xu Hao, Chief Operating Officer of Shanghai Inter-Ocean Enterprise Co., Ltd. stated the success Blue Mountain Coffee has had in China, “During the second CIIE, Jamaica was one of the guests of honor. Our sales volume on-site reached 300,000 yuan (about 6,747,996.64 JMD dollars),”.
According to Xu, Blue Mountain coffee is gaining thanks to China’s rise and economical presence on the world stage.
During the 2018-2021 period, his company saw its annual sales volume surge by 600 percent. “With China’s excellent business environment, improved infrastructure facilities, and strengthened logistics systems, trade between China and Jamaica is booming,” said Xu.
This is a huge win for Blue Mountain Coffee, which I hope will strengthen its business operations in China and reap even more financial benefits due to the size of the population and economic development among Chinese citizens.
Sweet sweet Jamaican coffee