By Bert Wilkinson, AP — Monday 8 February 2021
Guyana’s government cancelled permission for Taiwan to open a trade and investment office after pressure from mainland China. The agreement had been signed on 11 January without official announcement and became active 15 January. The cancellation followed a meeting between Guyana’s Foreign Minister Hugh Todd and the Chinese ambassador. Todd told AP the original idea was “just a market opportunity for the two private sectors to conduct business, but there are some geopolitics involved here.” Guyana is the headquarters nation of CARICOM and in 1972 encouraged Caribbean neighbours to establish diplomatic relations with Beijing, with most of the bloc maintaining a One China policy.