Grenadian Prime Minister Dickon Mitchell has hailed Chinese President Xi Jinping as a prominent global statesman for his exceptional governance marked by a clear vision, long-term perspective, and a commitment to the common interests of humanity.
In celebration of the 20th anniversary of the resumption of diplomatic ties between China and Grenada, Mitchell paid an official visit to China from January 11 to 17 at the invitation of Chinese Premier Li Qiang.
During his stay in Beijing, the prime minister sat down for an exclusive interview with China Central Television (CCTV) to discuss the expanding cooperation between China and Grenada, particularly in emerging sectors. Echoing President Xi's call for new highlights of cooperation, particularly in new energy, green and low-carbon initiatives, and the digital economy, Mitchell expressed enthusiasm for these prospects.
"For a small island developing state like Grenada, our land mass is quite small, but our maritime and marine environment is quite large. So initiatives such as cooperation and the blue economy initiatives such as cooperation and digitalization are critical because we think just the use of technology is an opportunity for us to improve the governance of the country. We see those initiatives such as the memorandum of understanding to address the blue economy, digitalization technology as crucial to helping take our bilateral relations to the next level. We should all take the opportunity to have deeper, better relations with China," he said.
Reflecting on his first face-to-face meeting with President Xi, the prime minister expressed his deep admiration for the Chinese leader's governance philosophy.
"When I've had the opportunity to read some of his texts that he's written on the Governance of China. I think first, what strikes me is the fact that he has a clear vision and a long term vision, that he appreciates that you have to constantly tweak and improve the governance systems, that you have to keep an open mind, that you have to be accountable to the people. That's, in a sense, one of the first things that jumps out at me," he said.
"He has a very calm personality. And I think obviously, with the enormity of the task of being the leader of such a country of in excess of 1. 4 billion people. I think he understands the weight of the responsibility and the important nature of that task. So it's quite clear that he takes it seriously, that he understands that it is an important job, not just for China, but for the global South and for humanity. So the fact that he is, one of the few world leaders who is articulating, documenting, and writing about those things, in my view, clearly puts him above and clearly highlights him as one of the leading statesmen of the world today. So I certainly think China and the world need his continued leadership and guidance," said Mitchell.
Grenadian PM lauds Xi's visionary leadership, dedication to global common interests
