KINGSTON, Jamaica, Gleaner - AS THE Obama administration might have noticed, their man, Joe Biden, the vice-president, was not the star attraction in Port-of-Spain in late May when he visited for talks with Caribbean Community (CARICOM) leaders.
That was reserved, a few days later, for Xi Jinping, the Chinese leader.
Mr Xi played to his billing. He announced US$3 billion in loans and grants to Caribbean countries and talked up Sino-Caribbean relations. "China holds very dear our relationship with the Caribbean region from a strategic perspective," he said.