Barbados is actively seeking to strengthen its ties with China and attract increased investment to the Caribbean Island, a member of the Barbados House of Representatives, Edmund Gregory Hinkson, said during his visit to Tianjin.

Hinkson's visit was part of a comprehensive research trip organized under the 2024 Interregional Seminar on the Achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals for Parliaments of Developing Countries.

The trip was organized by National Congress of China and Inter-Parliamentary Union.

Against the backdrop of the seminar, which brought together 153 parliamentary leaders and legislators from 32 member countries of the Inter-Parliamentary Union in Beijing, discussions extended to research excursions in Beijing, Tianjin and Shanxi province.

Reflecting on his participation in the seminar and visits to various parts of China, Hinkson expressed optimism about the potential for increased Chinese investment in Barbados, emphasizing the desire to foster greater opportunities for private business collaboration.

"It was impressive to see the efforts that China is making to lessen pollution by reducing fossil fuels," he said. "China's digital technology, clean mining technologies and smart high-tech agriculture are amazing — that's what developing countries need to learn from China."

He underscored the importance of developing countries learning from China's innovative approaches in these areas.

"China also provided laptops and tablet computers to school students and starting to rebuild the Barbados national stadium, which was built in the 1970s and has not been functioning over the last decade," he said.

Barbados holds the distinction of being the first country in the eastern Caribbean Sea region to establish diplomatic relations with China (in 1977), underscoring the growing partnership between the two nations.