By Randy Gopaul
On October 22, 2025, China’s Ambassador to Guyana, H.E. Yang Yang, met with President Dr. Mohamed Irfaan Ali at State House.
Both sides praised the “enduring friendship” and pledged to deepen Belt and Road cooperation. The President once again welcomed more Chinese companies to invest in Guyana’s “development and transformation.”
It was a routine diplomatic photo-op, polished statements, handshakes, smiles.
Yet the timing and tone reveal something troubling about Guyana’s foreign policy direction; while the United States carries the burden of defending Guyana’s sovereignty and regional stability, China quietly collects the economic rewards.
I’ll begin with the obvious. When Venezuela began intensifying threats to annex Essequibo, it was not Beijing that rushed to Georgetown’s side. It was Washington. The United States, through the State Department, Southern Command (SOUTHCOM), and its Embassy in Georgetown, made it clear that Venezuela’s aggression would not be tolerated. American surveillance flights, intelligence sharing, and diplomatic pressure helped stabilize the situation. U.S. officials coordinated regional statements of solidarity and reaffirmed Guyana’s territorial integrity under the 1899 Arbitral Award.
China, on the other hand, was silent. No condemnation. No public statement of support.
As Venezuela mobilized troops and rhetoric, Beijing issued the same carefully neutral comment it offers in every territorial dispute, calling for “dialogue” while avoiding any defense of international law.
So while U.S. diplomacy and deterrence help protect Guyana’s borders, China quietly expands its economic footprint, striking energy, infrastructure, and construction deals financed through its Belt and Road Initiative (BRI).
Chinese strategy is simple and consistent; Stay politically quiet. Avoid taking sides in local or regional conflicts. Invest heavily in infrastructure and extractive industries. Secure long-term control of key assets. Build economic dependence. Ensure that local elites see Chinese capital as indispensable to growth.
Guyana has become a textbook case. Chinese companies are now present across nearly every major sector, energy, construction, telecommunications, mining, and retail. They are building hotels, bridges, and highways. Huawei dominates the telecommunications infrastructure. Chinese contractors supply materials to public projects financed by Guyanese taxpayers.
Meanwhile, the United States, whose foreign policy protects the very sovereignty that makes these investments possible, sees little comparable economic return.
None of this is to argue that Guyana should reject Chinese investment outright. The country needs roads, ports, and energy infrastructure. But our diplomacy must balance gratitude for U.S. defense and partnership with realism about Chinese ambitions. Taxes on US imports are still high and Guyana government discrimination against US citizens who return to engage in business is pervasive, structural, enduring.
China’s global pattern is well documented; economic leverage first, political influence later.
Across Africa, Southeast Asia, and the Pacific, nations that once saw Chinese loans as benevolent soon discovered the cost—contract opacity, inflated bids, environmental harm, and loss of control over critical assets.
If Guyana is not cautious, our oil revenues and public works could become tied to Chinese financing terms that weaken local oversight and erode sovereignty, the very sovereignty that the United States currently helps defend.
The United States deserves more than polite appreciation. If American diplomacy and defense partnerships are helping preserve Guyana’s borders and stability, then U.S. investors should be given genuine opportunities, not bureaucratic hurdles—within the same sectors dominated by Chinese firms.
Reciprocity is not anti-China; it’s common sense. True friendship is not measured by who builds the next bridge but by who stands beside you when your territory is threatened.
If China truly values Guyana’s partnership, it should publicly affirm Guyana’s territorial integrity and contribute to regional peacekeeping and humanitarian efforts, not just commercial ventures.
Until then, Guyana must ensure that economic diplomacy reflects strategic reality, the United States does the heavy lifting; China collects the contracts.
