China and Guyana can soon cooperate in promoting the "Green Economy" alternative energy initiative model.

So says Cheng Siwei, a former vice chairman of China's National People's Congress (NPC), who heads the top national associations promoting people-to-people friendship between China and other countries and peoples the world over.

During a visit to the Republic of Guyana – the only English-speaking country in South America – Chen Siwei hinted the two countries could work together to promote the principle of "green economy" that promotes renewable energy.

Guyana's vast hinterland in the globally important Amazon region is home to the international Iwokrama Project, which monitors and tabulates the plant and biological diversity in the region under international scientific supervision under extensive concessions granted by the Guyana government.

"Given the rich biodiversity Guyana possesses," Cheng Siwei said, "investment in the green economy is likely to be targeted as important factors for Guyana, China and the world at large."

Guyana President Bharrat Jagdeo said during the meeting with the visiting China delegation, "I still believe that a green economy for Guyana will be as transformative as the Information Communication Technology (ICT) during its advent in the 1990s."

The green economy is considered in many world quarters as a rapidly developing new economic development model that promotes renewable energy as a substitute for fossil fuels such as petroleum and natural gas.

Jagdeo expressed regret, however, that "the model is being championed by some leaders in the developed world who are highlighting its benefits, but who are not taking the necessary action at the global level to make it a reality."

Guyana, the first country in the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) to establish diplomatic relations with China, shares several cooperation agreements with China in various fields.

The two countries have over the years conducted what Guyana government officials like to describe as fruitful "win-win" economic cooperation projects.

Such projects include the Guyana International Conference Centre (GICC) – where CARICOM and other International summits and multinational gatherings are held – and the BOSAI bauxite mining plant owned by a private Chinese firm.

Tourism, trade and investment flows, infrastructure, agriculture, science and technology are some of the key other areas of cooperation between China and Guyana.

The signing of the Framework Agreement for the billion-dollar Amaila Falls Hydropower Project (AFHP) – the biggest infrastructure investment in the country – is the most recent symbol of the joint partnership between the two nations.