The Chinese Embassy in Guyana has rejected what it described as “false claims” and politically motivated criticism by a U.S. State Department official concerning projects undertaken by Chinese companies in Guyana.

Assistant US Secretary of State for Western Hemisphere Affairs Juan Pablo Segura, has flagged the airport construction project as one delayed by years and overrun by costs.

In a statement,the Chinese Embassy’s official spokesperson said the U.S. official had recently used his personal social media account to “smear and attack” Chinese companies and their projects in Guyana.

The embassy said the comments disregarded the facts and represented an attempt to interfere in normal economic and trade cooperation between China and Guyana.

“Such remarks disregard the facts and constitute political manipulation and malicious smears against normal China-Guyana economic and trade cooperation. The Chinese Embassy in Guyana firmly opposes them,” the Chinese embassy said.

The Chinese Embassy said Chinese companies have played a key role in Guyana’s development for many years through investment and infrastructure projects have contributed to the country’s modernization.

Among the projects highlighted were the Bharrat Jagdeo Demerara River Bridge, the China-Guyana Friendship Joe Vieira Park, and the six Regional hospitals.

The embassy said these projects have helped improve infrastructure, create employment opportunities and support Guyana’s economic and social development, while receiving broad recognition from Guyanese society.

“A true friend is not someone who stands at a distance and tells you who you should or should not work with,” the statement said, adding that genuine friendship involves providing support, creating opportunities and working together on the basis of mutual respect.

The Chinese embassy also pushed back against suggestions that Guyana should reconsider its cooperation with China, arguing that countries have the sovereign right to determine their own development priorities and international partnerships.

The embassy further argued that Guyana and other countries in Latin America and the Caribbean should be free to choose their own development partners “without outside interference.”

It also criticized “efforts” to politicize economic and trade cooperation or frame such relationships in ideological terms.

The statement comes amid continued debate over the growing involvement of Chinese companies in Guyana’s infrastructure and economic development, as well as broader geopolitical competition for influence in the Caribbean and Latin America region. 

The Chinese embassy previously had to respond to a statement by the US Secretary of State about bad road works in Guyana after he linked Chinese companies to a road that was not built by any Chinese company here.

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