Suriname president to visit China

Suriname President Chandrikapersad Santokhi will make an official state visit to China at a date to be announced later.  

The state-owned Suriname Communications Service (CDS) said during the planned visit that the president aims to explore opportunities for new partnerships with China. A major part of his trip, the CDS added, will also be to create opportunities for Surinamese business people in China and vice versa.

A team of representatives from China’s Central Television (CCTV) recently visited Suriname and held talks with Santokhi, providing him with details about the channel and its services. CCTV is China’s national television channel. It has a network of 50 channels broadcasting different programmes and is accessible to more than one billion viewers.

Suriname President Chandrikapersad Santokhi.

Just last November, Suriname Foreign Minister Albert Ramdin made an official visit to China, where he met with his counterpart, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi.

The two ministers discussed several key issues, including China-Suriname relations, China-Caribbean relations, and further cooperation under the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) and the Global Development Initiative (GDI), among others.

Wang said China has always viewed relations with the Caribbean countries from a strategic and long-term perspective and looks forward to deepening mutual trust, expanding cooperation, and strengthening coordination on multilateral affairs.

Ramdin said that Suriname always abides by the 'One-China Principle' and will continue to actively participate in the BRI and other major international initiatives proposed by Chinese President Xi Jinping.

China and Suriname formally established diplomatic relations on May 28, 1976.