TT WELCOMES CHINA’S VIP

China’s Vice President, His Excellency Zeng Qinghong, the highest ranking Chinese official to visit Trinidad and Tobago, spent two days here before going on to Jamaica where an exhibition is being held, highlights this country’s and the region’s growing interest to China and should pave the way for increased exports of Trinidad’s asphalt, asphalt products and other commodities to China. The visit followed immediately on one the Chinese Vice President had made to neighbouring Venezuela which is poised today to provide China with substantial supplies of crude.

The significance which China has placed on the visit, particularly to Venezuela and to this country as well, was highlighted by the senior ranking members of the delegation accompanying him - China’s Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs, Zhou Whenzong; Vice Minister of Finance, Li Yong; Vice Minister of Commerce, Ma Xiuhong and the Governor of the China Import and Export Bank, Yang Zilin.  Businessmen from mainland China and Hong Kong formed part of the visitors. The possibility of additional imports of asphalt by China was underscored by Zeng Qinghong’s pre-arranged visit to Trinidad Lake Asphalt (1978) Limited at La Brea, home of the world’s largest deposit of asphalt.  And despite the country’s relatively large exports of crude oil and liquefied natural gas, Lake Asphalt was the only company which had been slotted into his tight schedule.  This was seen as a signal that China, which received its first shipment of asphalt - 2,380 tons - in 1949 and has since used Trinidad’s asphalt to pave several of its highways and tunnel roadways was planning to import increased quantities.
 
This should provide Trinidad and Tobago with additional foreign exchange.  Any increased imports and use of our asphalt will be beneficial to both Trinidad and Tobago and China because of the well known long wearing qualities which make the use of our asphalt far less inexpensive in the medium and long term. Already China has made use of a great deal of the wide range of applications to which this country’s asphalt can be put, with one of the most high profile being the paving of the roadway of the mile long Cross Harbour Tunnel which links Hong Kong to mainland China,  employing a 50 per cent Lake Asphalt binder.  The strength of the wearing material laid down in the tunnel’s roadway continues to be demonstrated  with more than 2,500,000 vehicles using the tunnel every month!
 
Meanwhile, Trinidad Lake Asphalt in an advertisement published in yesterday’s Newsday welcoming China’s Vice President, sub titled “T.L.A. paving the way in China” carried photographs of the No. 110 State-Way in Beijing, 2000, which had used Lake Asphalt binder, indicated that Trinidad’s asphalt had been laid down at International Airports, Truck Lanes (Heavy and Highly Trafficked Areas), Bridge Decks, Seaport Terminals and Tunnels. China and Trinidad and Tobago have signed cultural and technical cooperations agreements as well as provision of a concessional loan, which should serve the interests of both countries who have long standing ties dating back to the arrival of the first Chinese people to make their home here.