The Tribune

By RASHAD ROLLE

Tribune News Editor


rrolle@tribunemedia.net

CHINA pushed back on US criticism of its financing of the Nassau New Hospital on Friday, rejecting claims that the deal undermines The Bahamas’ interests and warning that cooperation between the two countries should not be subjected to outside interference.

In a statement issued by its embassy in New Providence, China said the hospital is a “livelihood project” requested by the Bahamian government and financed through a highly preferential loan designed to meet the country’s healthcare needs and improve the well-being of its people. The project, it said, was advanced through “friendly consultation and mutual respect” and aligns with The Bahamas’ national interests.

The response followed remarks by the United States ambassador to The Bahamas, Herschel Walker, who argued that the terms of the $195m Chinese financing for New Providence’s second hospital are not in the country’s best interests and urged the government to consider alternative funding options.

His comments came after Tribune Business revealed that Chinese law and jurisdiction will govern the China Export-Import Bank loan covering nearly three-quarters of the hospital’s $278m financing.

China rejected the suggestion that the project carries geopolitical implications, saying its cooperation with The Bahamas involves no strategic calculations and targets no third party.

It said China respects The Bahamas’ sovereignty and supports its independent choice of development paths and partners, adding that such cooperation should not be interfered with by any external actor.

The embassy said China remains committed to building long-term friendly and cooperative relations with The Bahamas, regardless of international or regional changes, and described the relationship as one based on equality, mutual benefit and win–win cooperation.

Mr Walker’s intervention has raised the prospect of the hospital project becoming a flashpoint between the Trump administration and the Davis government, potentially drawing The Bahamas into wider tensions between Washington and Beijing.

The Bahamian government on Friday said the financing agreement with China was finalised after technical, legal and financial review, with the urgent healthcare needs of Bahamians as the overriding priority.

Officials said the project addresses long-standing gaps in tertiary care, maternal health and other critical services under strain in the public system.

The government also said it had engaged the United States at senior levels, including discussions with the US Export-Import Bank, but did not receive a financing response that matched the scale, timing and certainty required to move the project forward.

It added that the United States remains a valued partner and that the hospital agreement does not diminish that relationship.

In his statement, the US ambassador suggested that The Bahamas would be better served by financing arrangements that adhere to international norms and said the United States stands ready to help secure a better deal.

He also confirmed that China Railway Construction Corporation, the project’s main contractor, appears on a US restricted investment list because of its links to China’s military-industrial complex.

The financing debate has unfolded as the government presses ahead with plans for the new 50-acre Perpall Tract facility, which a feasibility study tabled in the House of Assembly warns will operate at a loss and rely heavily on taxpayer subsidies.

The report projects that just 3.7 percent of the hospital’s annual operating costs will be generated internally and that, without reform, the Public Hospitals Authority’s subsidy would have to rise by more than $66m a year to cover the additional burden.

The same study points to the eventual introduction of National Health Insurance contributions as a possible long-term funding mechanism for tertiary healthcare, though ministers have said such a move is not imminent and would require significant preparatory work.

Despite the projected financial losses, the feasibility report stresses that the hospital’s primary purpose is social rather than commercial, arguing that expanding public healthcare capacity in New Providence is necessary to ease existing shortages, save lives and improve national health outcomes.