US-China and CARICOM ties

PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad – TRINIDAD and Tobago’s importance to the two most economically powerful countries of the world is being fully displayed this week by virtual back-to-back official visits, first by US Vice-President, Joseph Biden, then by the People’s Republic of China’s President, Xi Jingping.
For those revealing political innocence about these carefully choreographed visits to a small island state, best known internationally for its pace-setting profile in steelband music and calypso, think of oil and natural gas resources and the puzzle quickly clears up.
As the sole energy-based and economically most advanced nation of the 15-member Caribbean Community (CARICOM), Trinidad and Tobago’s playing of host to America’s Vice-President and China’s President must be viewed as more than a public relations exercise.