Despite the 90-degree temperatures, there was a chill in the air when the duke and duchess of Cambridge arrived this week in Jamaica. For it seems that Jamaica wishes to sever ties with Britain’s monarchy, and the question is whether Communist China could be behind the development. 

During the royal visit on Wednesday, Prime Minister Holness informed the duke and duchess that Jamaica is “moving on” and “intends to fulfill its true ambitions as an independent country.” Yet how truly independent it might be is a question that has yet to become clear. 

Last year, Barbados became the latest Caribbean nation to part ways with the crown, ending a 400-year relationship to become a republic. That was marked with a memorable column by the Sun’s “Brexit Diarist,” Stephen MacLean, that was issued under the headline: “As Barbados Becomes a Republic, Our Diarist Doffs the Phrygian Cap.”

Meantime, Communist China has plowed more than $600 million into the island economy, equal to one-tenth of its gross domestic product. Barbados joined the Belt and Road Initiative in 2019. Roads, homes, sewers, and hotels have all been constructed with the Chinese yuan. Jamaica then also joined the Belt and Road.

Since 2019, Beijing has extended more than $2.1 billion to Kingston, making it the biggest recipient of Chinese cash in the Caribbean, and the sixth largest recipient in Latin America. It is outdone by only the likes of Venezuela, Brazil, Ecuador, Argentina, and Bolivia. Jamaica’s own Foreign Affairs Ministry building has been built by China’s Jiangsu Jiangdu Construction Group.

At the opening of the new building in January, Beijing’s ambassador to Kingston, Tian Qi, stressed the importance of the year 2022 for Sino-Jamaican relations. It is, after all, the 50th anniversary of diplomatic ties between the nations — and wouldn’t a Jamaican shift away from Britain and the West make for a grand gold anniversary gift? 

As a sovereign nation, Jamaica in theory has the right to engage with any country it pleases — though the Monroe Doctrine might come into play. If clever, Jamaica might even consider playing powers off one another to maximize its own economic and political interests. Yet, for Jamaica, the danger lies in opaque Chinese contracts that could jeopardize the very independence it ostensibly seeks. 

The Chinese-constructed North South Highway, say, could involve such a contract. The road connects the island’s two coasts, and has already left Kingston with a $730 million debt to China. The contract for the project also contains a clause that ostensibly makes all publicly owned assets accessible to seizure by Beijing should Jamaica be in breach of the contract. It pays to read the fine print. 

On its own, Jamaica is not rich in the minerals or natural resources that China seeks elsewhere. Yet it, like other Caribbean nations, is coveted by Beijing because of its proximity to America. Communist China has long been upset by America’s presence in the Pacific. Chinese leverage in the Caribbean is seen as one in the eye for Washington.

One in the eye, indeed. Steadily, the West’s global influence seems to be waning while Beijing continues to expand its reach, also in America’s backyard. With its economic might, it could even be nudging nations over the edge. Could Jamaica be one such case?