Beautiful Virgin Islands

Tuesday, Jun 24, 2025

Blaming China’s investments for Barbados ditching Queen is Sinophobia. What stopped UK from developing its former colony?

Blaming China’s investments for Barbados ditching Queen is Sinophobia. What stopped UK from developing its former colony?

The decision by Barbados to axe the British monarch as titular head of state has unleashed anti-China paranoia claiming malign influence from Beijing. This is the poverty of Cold War zero-sum thinking.
The former Caribbean colony simply can’t assert its independence from Britain; there must be a sinister explanation, so the backward reasoning goes.

However, an alternative explanation is more straightforward, and on the money, literally.

Barbados has joined several other Caribbean states which are benefiting from billions of dollars of Chinese government investments in the region. The investments are for infrastructure projects: airports, sea ports, roads, hospitals, hotels and telecoms.

This is part of China’s global economic development plans known as the Belt and Road Initiative or “New Silk Road” which have already galvanized vast swathes of Asia and Africa.

Chinese investment in the Caribbean and more generally Latin America is just part of a wider global story. And Barbados is just a small part of the Caribbean chapter.

When Barbados announced earlier this month that it was going to make itself a republic by the end of next year and henceforth remove Britain’s Queen Elizabeth as its symbolic head of state there was a palpable feeling of stunned shock.

The British monarchy and Downing Street said the move was up to the people of Barbados, but there was a sense of chagrin over the apparent rejection.

Politicians like Conservative lawmaker Tom Tugendhat have since followed up with claims that China is putting undue pressure on Barbados to snub Britain.

“China has been using infrastructure investment and debt diplomacy as a means of control,” he told the media, adding that the island state was “swapping a symbolic Queen… for an Emperor in Beijing.”

Tugendhat, who chairs the UK’s parliamentary foreign affairs committee, is an inveterate hawk espousing anti-China and anti-Russia views. He’s a Cold War throwback who views international relations through the prism of alleged malign activities by China and Russia undermining Western democracies, NATO and every other institution no doubt.

What exactly China is doing in Barbados that is supposed to be malign is not specified. It’s a matter of prejudice and innuendo that if China is investing billions in foreign countries then it must be for a pernicious agenda. In short, this is Sinophobia, which we see also in its counterpart of Russophobia.

When Chinese President Xi Jinping made a state visit to Caribbean nations in 2013 he reportedly signed agreements for $3 billion in development investments.

Since then, total Chinese state investment is reckoned to have soared with several more Caribbean countries joining the Belt and Road Initiative. In addition to Barbados, they include Trinidad and Tobago, Antigua and Barbuda, Grenada, Jamaica, Dominican Republic and Cuba.

Richard Bernal, a former Caribbean ambassador to the United States, is quoted as saying: “Chinese money became available and these countries were very happy to be able to borrow this money because they used it to build hospitals, build roads… It has generally developed a lot of goodwill.”

The fact is China has stepped in with much-needed development capital where former colonial power Britain is too broke to even take care of its own nation 6,000 kilometers away, and where the United States has a blighted history of invasions and bloody coups. (is it clear he refers to the region? Not Barbados in particular? I THINK SO)

Of course, Washington may be concerned that its presumed “backyard” is being revamped with Chinese foreign investment.

But it’s entirely reasonable for Beijing to expect countries benefiting from its financial aid to reciprocate by adhering to friendly policies, such as recognizing the One China Policy and repudiating for example the recognition of Taiwan as a separate state.

In other words, countries can be expected by Beijing to shun Washington’s hostility toward China and to chart a more independent line in foreign relations. That’s not malign. It’s called fair dues.

Barbados gained independence from Britain in 1966. Since then the British monarch remained as a symbolic head of state, similar to other nations such as Australia and Canada. But over the years, Barbados has been moving toward republican status.

A constitutional review advocated in 1998 that the island become a republic. China’s involvement is not something out of the blue either. Barbados signed a defense agreement with Beijing back in 2006.

A “symbolic” monarch is a relic of the past. For some Britons having their Queen as head of state in foreign nations may provide some nostalgia of former global glory.

But for the people of Barbados they are entitled to prioritize social and economic development in the here and now. If the investment comes from China and that gives Barbados the confidence to develop into a republic free from trappings of past British rule, then what is wrong with that? Nothing.

The only people who might take offense are empire-sentimentalists and incorrigible Cold Warriors who are compelled to find a sinister Chinese (or Russian plot) behind each and every development.
Newsletter

Related Articles

Beautiful Virgin Islands
0:00
0:00
Close
Germany and Italy Under Pressure to Repatriate $245bn of Gold from US Vaults
Airlines Evaluate Flight Cancellations Amid Escalating US-Iran Tensions
Starmer Invites Innovators to Join Government Talent Scheme
UK Economy’s Strong Opening Quarter Shows Signs of Cooling
Harrods Seeks Court Order to Secure Al Fayed Estate for Victims
BA and Singapore Airlines Cancel Dubai Flights Amid Middle East Tensions
Trump Faces Backlash from MAGA Base Over Iran Strikes
Meta Bets $14 B on Alexandr Wang to Drive AI Ambitions
WATCH: Israeli forces show the aftermath of a massive airstrike at Iran's Isfahan nuclear site
FedEx Founder Fred Smith, ‘Heart and Soul’ of the Company, Dies at 80
Chinese Factories Shift Away from U.S. Amid Trump‑Era Tariffs
Pimco Seizes Opportunity in Japan’s Dislocated Bond Market
Labubu Doll Drives Pop Mart to Status as China’s Most Valuable Toy Maker
Global Coal Demand Defies Paris Accord Goals
We have new information and breaking details to share about what is shaping up to be a historic air campaign tonight
Six Massive Bombs Dropped on Fordow; Trump: 'A Historic Moment for the U.S., Israel, and the World'
Fordow: Deeply Buried Iranian Enrichment Site in U.S.–Israel Crosshairs
United States Conducts Precision Strikes on Iran’s Nuclear Sites
US strikes Iran nuclear sites, Trump says
Pakistan to nominate Trump for Nobel Peace Prize.
BBC Demands Perplexity AI Immediately Stop Using Its Content
Telegram Founder: I Will Leave My Fortune to Over 100 of My Children
Political Turmoil Resurfaces in Belgium Amid Economic Concerns
Fed policymakers divided on timing of interest rate cuts
Trump signals imminent agreement with Harvard University
Inheritance tax referendum alarms Swiss billionaire community
Japan cancels bilateral security meeting amid US defence demands
AI skeptic Emily Bender warns that ‘the emperor has no clothes’
Israel Confirms Assassination of Quds Force Commander in Tehran
16 Billion Login Credentials Leaked in Unprecedented Cybersecurity Breach
Senate hearing on who was 'really running' Biden White House kicks off
Iranian Military Officers Reportedly Seek Contact with Reza Pahlavi, Signal Intent to Defect
FBI and Senate Investigate Allegations of Chinese Plot to Influence the 2020 Election in Biden’s Favor Using Fake U.S. Driver’s Licenses
Vietnam Emerges as Luxury Yacht Destination for Ultra‑Rich
Plans to Sell Dutch Embassy in Bangkok Face Local Opposition
China's Iranian Oil Imports Face Disruption Amid Escalating Middle East Tensions
Trump's $5 Million 'Trump Card' Visa Program Draws Nearly 70,000 Applicants
DGCA Finds No Major Safety Concerns in Air India's Boeing 787 Fleet
Airlines Reroute Flights Amid Expanding Middle East Conflict Zones
Elon Musk's xAI Seeks $9.3 Billion in Funding Amid AI Expansion
Trump Demands Iran's Unconditional Surrender Amid Escalating Conflict
Israeli Airstrike Targets Iranian State TV in Central Tehran
President Trump is leaving the G7 summit early and has ordered the National Security Council to the Situation Room
Taiwan Imposes Export Ban on Chips to Huawei and SMIC
Israel has just announced plans to strike Tehran again, and in response, Trump has urged people to evacuate
Netanyahu Signals Potential Regime Change in Iran
Juncker Criticizes EU Inaction on Trump Tariffs
EU Proposes Ban on New Russian Gas Contracts
Analysts Warn Iran May Resort to Unconventional Warfare
Iranian Regime Faces Existential Threat Amid Conflict
×