Partnership with China is a win-win approach – Bawumia

The Vice President, Dr Mahamudu Bawumia, has reiterated government’s commitment to the strengthening of bilateral relations with the People’s Republic of China.

Dr Bawumia made this known when the Chinese Vice Minister for Commerce, Mr Qiam Keming, paid a courtesy call on him at the Flagstaff House.

Dr Bawumia, in June this year, led a delegation of government officials to China in a quest to deepen diplomatic and economic ties, as well as create opportunities for Ghanaian businesses to form partnerships between the two countries. Government is seeking to leverage Ghana’s natural resources, specifically bauxite, through its recent partnership with China to commit about $19 billion to Ghana’s economy.

Dr Bawumia disclosed that the government sees several opportunities to cooperate with her partners in areas like agriculture, infrastructure, trade and culture.

“Partnership with China is a win-win approach. We want the Chinese government to encourage businessmen in China to come and set up businesses in Ghana and also make the climate conducive in China for Ghanaian businesses,” he urged.

The Vice President underscored the importance of prioritising projects in Ghana to meet pressing demands, with employment creation projects topmost on the list.

“We have to prioritise what we do. The ‘One-District, One-Factory’, ‘One-Village, One-Dam,’ road construction and agriculture products processing are very important for this government and so we will appreciate it if Chinese experts will partner with us to see them realised,” Dr Bawumia indicated.

Mr Qiam Keming on his part said he is in Ghana to follow up on Dr Bawumia’s recent visit to China during which discussions on bilateral trade were held.

He emphasised that the two countries intend to complement and strengthen further their industrial and agriculture cooperation to add value to agricultural products, especially cocoa.

“China seeks to strike a balance between short and long term developments and is focused on prioritised projects. Ghana is a fast developing country and we are ready to partner with you in global development.

“In the meantime, a Chinese team is undertaking feasibility studies on a number of projects including a medical facility, 13 bridge projects in the Western Region, Daboya and Nagone in the Northern Region,” he disclosed.

China is also partnering Ghana to provide human capacity building training in Ghana. This is to develop human resources and equip them with the requisite skills to stay abreast with contemporary trends in development.

Present at the meeting were Sun Baohong, China’s Ambassador to Ghana; Mr Edward Boateng, Ghana’s Ambassador to China and other government officials.