{"id":118121,"date":"2020-10-05T14:45:10","date_gmt":"2020-10-05T18:45:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/?p=118121"},"modified":"2020-10-05T14:45:10","modified_gmt":"2020-10-05T18:45:10","slug":"nicholas-china-an-important-partner","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/nicholas-china-an-important-partner\/","title":{"rendered":"Nicholas: China an important partner"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"<\/a><\/div>
\"\"<\/a><\/div>

The Antigua and Barbuda government says China remains an \u201cimportant development partner\u201d and has condemned \u201cpersons who ought to be more responsible\u201d for seeking to spread paranoia with the relationship with Beijing.<\/p>

\"\"<\/a><\/div>\n

\u201cThey are an important partner of ours,\u201d Information Minister Melford Nicholas said, insisting that there are people \u201cwhy are trying to give an impression the sky is falling\u201d.<\/p>\n

Nicholas\u2019 statement comes following the arrival here last week of more than 150 Chinese nationals on board a chartered flight.<\/p>

\"\"<\/a><\/div>
\"\"<\/a><\/div>\n
<\/div>\n

A statement issued after the weekly Cabinet meeting had said that the 56 Chinese, who arrived here on a China Eastern Airways Charter last Wednesday \u201cwas a routine rotation of employees of CCECC \u2013 the firm which is building the [Chinese] Embassy on Marble Hill, and the Cargo Port at the Deepwater Harbour\u201d.<\/p>

\"\"<\/a><\/div>\n
<\/div>\n

The statement had noted that \u201csocial media became abuzz with speculation and false reports, which the Cabinet feels compelled to address\u201d and noted that Foreign Minister, E.P. Chet Greene, apart from informing Cabinet on the issue, had provided a 15-minute radio interview to clear up the issue.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe charter, following its discharge of passengers, left Antigua for China with 163 Chinese nationals on board. There was a routine rotation of employees of CCECC \u2013 the firm which is building the Embassy on Marble Hill, and the Cargo Port at the Deepwater Harbour.<\/p>

\"\"<\/a><\/div>\n
<\/div>\n

\u201cCCECC has also been involved in construction projects in Antigua for more than 35 years, including the Creekside Bridge, the Multi-purpose CentRE, the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium, the V.C. Bird Air Terminal, and other construction projects,\u201d the statement said, adding that the Chinese company is also building its Americas and Caribbean Headquarters here \u201cto which several of the arriving workers are assigned\u201d.<\/p>\n

Nicholas, speaking on a local radio station, said: \u201cChina remains an important partner to the government and people of Antigua and Barbuda and there is a growing level of paranoia that is being stoked by people who ought to be more responsible and to try to give an impression that the sky is falling.<\/p>

\"\"<\/a><\/div>\n
<\/div>\n

\u201cWe host World Cup 2007 in the Caribbean of which Antigua was very much a part of the proceedings. That brand new stadium was a gift from the Chinese government and there are a legion of projects that have been granted to us and have been supportive of us from the government and people of China.<\/p>

\"\"<\/a><\/div>\n

\u2018We want people to be mindful and we can go back as far as the 1950s where the Chinese have played a role in the development of many aspects of the Caribbean,\u201d Nicholas said.<\/p>\n

The United States has been urging Caribbean countries not to accept gifts from China and, on his recent visit to Guyana, US Secretary of State Michael Pompeo reiterated the message.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Antigua and Barbuda government says China remains an \u201cimportant development partner\u201d and has condemned \u201cpersons who ought to be more responsible\u201d for seeking to spread paranoia with the relationship with Beijing. \u201cThey are an important partner of ours,\u201d Information Minister Melford Nicholas said, insisting that there are people \u201cwhy are trying to give an […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":111556,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[13],"tags":[88,96,91,90,99,92,98,95,97],"class_list":["post-118121","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-economy","tag-antigua","tag-antigua-breaking-news","tag-antigua-caribbean","tag-antigua-crime","tag-antigua-economy-news","tag-antigua-news","tag-antigua-politics","tag-breaking-news-antigua","tag-tourism-news"],"yoast_head":"\nNicholas: China an important partner - Antigua News Room<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/nicholas-china-an-important-partner\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Nicholas: China an important partner\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The Antigua and Barbuda government says China remains an \u201cimportant development partner\u201d and has condemned \u201cpersons who ought to be more responsible\u201d for seeking to spread paranoia with the relationship with Beijing. \u201cThey are an important partner of ours,\u201d Information Minister Melford Nicholas said, insisting that there are people \u201cwhy are trying to give an […]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/nicholas-china-an-important-partner\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Antigua News Room\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/antiguanewsroom\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2020-10-05T18:45:10+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/mlavawteztbj.i.optimole.com\/w:auto\/h:auto\/q:mauto\/f:best\/https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/Nicholas.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1098\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"766\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Editor\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@AntiguaNewsRoom\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@AntiguaNewsRoom\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Editor\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/nicholas-china-an-important-partner\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/nicholas-china-an-important-partner\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Editor\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/#\/schema\/person\/36cac05ef6398fe56ae3e6317f8535c5\"},\"headline\":\"Nicholas: China an important partner\",\"datePublished\":\"2020-10-05T18:45:10+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2020-10-05T18:45:10+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/nicholas-china-an-important-partner\/\"},\"wordCount\":461,\"commentCount\":31,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/nicholas-china-an-important-partner\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/mlavawteztbj.i.optimole.com\/w:1098\/h:766\/q:mauto\/f:best\/https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/Nicholas.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"Antigua\",\"Antigua Breaking News\",\"Antigua Caribbean\",\"Antigua Crime\",\"Antigua Economy News\",\"Antigua News\",\"Antigua Politics\",\"Breaking News Antigua\",\"Tourism News\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Economy\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/nicholas-china-an-important-partner\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/nicholas-china-an-important-partner\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/nicholas-china-an-important-partner\/\",\"name\":\"Nicholas: China an important partner - Antigua News Room\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/nicholas-china-an-important-partner\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/nicholas-china-an-important-partner\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/mlavawteztbj.i.optimole.com\/w:1098\/h:766\/q:mauto\/f:best\/https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/Nicholas.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2020-10-05T18:45:10+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2020-10-05T18:45:10+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/nicholas-china-an-important-partner\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/nicholas-china-an-important-partner\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/nicholas-china-an-important-partner\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/mlavawteztbj.i.optimole.com\/w:1098\/h:766\/q:mauto\/f:best\/https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/Nicholas.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/mlavawteztbj.i.optimole.com\/w:1098\/h:766\/q:mauto\/f:best\/https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/Nicholas.jpg\",\"width\":1098,\"height\":766,\"caption\":\"Nicholas\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/nicholas-china-an-important-partner\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Nicholas: China an important partner\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/\",\"name\":\"Antigua News Room\",\"description\":\"News As It Happens\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Antigua Newsroom\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/mlavawteztbj.i.optimole.com\/w:1080\/h:1080\/q:mauto\/f:best\/https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/IMG_1584.jpeg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/mlavawteztbj.i.optimole.com\/w:1080\/h:1080\/q:mauto\/f:best\/https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/IMG_1584.jpeg\",\"width\":1260,\"height\":1260,\"caption\":\"Antigua Newsroom\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/antiguanewsroom\",\"https:\/\/x.com\/AntiguaNewsRoom\",\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/antiguanewsroom\/\"]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/#\/schema\/person\/36cac05ef6398fe56ae3e6317f8535c5\",\"name\":\"Editor\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/ad516503a11cd5ca435acc9bb6523536?s=96\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/ad516503a11cd5ca435acc9bb6523536?s=96\",\"caption\":\"Editor\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/author\/editor\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Nicholas: China an important partner - Antigua News Room","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/nicholas-china-an-important-partner\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Nicholas: China an important partner","og_description":"The Antigua and Barbuda government says China remains an \u201cimportant development partner\u201d and has condemned \u201cpersons who ought to be more responsible\u201d for seeking to spread paranoia with the relationship with Beijing. \u201cThey are an important partner of ours,\u201d Information Minister Melford Nicholas said, insisting that there are people \u201cwhy are trying to give an […]","og_url":"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/nicholas-china-an-important-partner\/","og_site_name":"Antigua News Room","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/antiguanewsroom","article_published_time":"2020-10-05T18:45:10+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1098,"height":766,"url":"https:\/\/mlavawteztbj.i.optimole.com\/w:auto\/h:auto\/q:mauto\/f:best\/https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/Nicholas.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Editor","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@AntiguaNewsRoom","twitter_site":"@AntiguaNewsRoom","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Editor","Est. reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/nicholas-china-an-important-partner\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/nicholas-china-an-important-partner\/"},"author":{"name":"Editor","@id":"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/#\/schema\/person\/36cac05ef6398fe56ae3e6317f8535c5"},"headline":"Nicholas: China an important partner","datePublished":"2020-10-05T18:45:10+00:00","dateModified":"2020-10-05T18:45:10+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/nicholas-china-an-important-partner\/"},"wordCount":461,"commentCount":31,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/nicholas-china-an-important-partner\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/mlavawteztbj.i.optimole.com\/w:1098\/h:766\/q:mauto\/f:best\/https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/Nicholas.jpg","keywords":["Antigua","Antigua Breaking News","Antigua Caribbean","Antigua Crime","Antigua Economy News","Antigua News","Antigua Politics","Breaking News Antigua","Tourism News"],"articleSection":["Economy"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/nicholas-china-an-important-partner\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/nicholas-china-an-important-partner\/","url":"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/nicholas-china-an-important-partner\/","name":"Nicholas: China an important partner - Antigua News Room","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/nicholas-china-an-important-partner\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/nicholas-china-an-important-partner\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/mlavawteztbj.i.optimole.com\/w:1098\/h:766\/q:mauto\/f:best\/https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/Nicholas.jpg","datePublished":"2020-10-05T18:45:10+00:00","dateModified":"2020-10-05T18:45:10+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/nicholas-china-an-important-partner\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/nicholas-china-an-important-partner\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/nicholas-china-an-important-partner\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/mlavawteztbj.i.optimole.com\/w:1098\/h:766\/q:mauto\/f:best\/https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/Nicholas.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/mlavawteztbj.i.optimole.com\/w:1098\/h:766\/q:mauto\/f:best\/https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/Nicholas.jpg","width":1098,"height":766,"caption":"Nicholas"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/nicholas-china-an-important-partner\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Nicholas: China an important partner"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/","name":"Antigua News Room","description":"News As It Happens","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/#organization","name":"Antigua Newsroom","url":"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/mlavawteztbj.i.optimole.com\/w:1080\/h:1080\/q:mauto\/f:best\/https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/IMG_1584.jpeg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/mlavawteztbj.i.optimole.com\/w:1080\/h:1080\/q:mauto\/f:best\/https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/IMG_1584.jpeg","width":1260,"height":1260,"caption":"Antigua Newsroom"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/antiguanewsroom","https:\/\/x.com\/AntiguaNewsRoom","https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/antiguanewsroom\/"]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/#\/schema\/person\/36cac05ef6398fe56ae3e6317f8535c5","name":"Editor","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/ad516503a11cd5ca435acc9bb6523536?s=96","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/ad516503a11cd5ca435acc9bb6523536?s=96","caption":"Editor"},"url":"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/author\/editor\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/anr-api\/wp\/v2\/posts\/118121","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/anr-api\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/anr-api\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/anr-api\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/anr-api\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=118121"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/anr-api\/wp\/v2\/posts\/118121\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/anr-api\/wp\/v2\/media\/111556"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/anr-api\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=118121"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/anr-api\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=118121"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/anr-api\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=118121"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}