Prime Minister Joseph Muscat took the time to meet the president of the China Communications Construction Company (CCCC) during his visit to China yesterday, confirming that the World Bank’s decision to blacklist the company for fraudulent practices was of no concern to him.

CCCC was the company announced, last year, to have offered to fund a €4 million feasibility study on the construction of a Malta-Gozo bridge. The agreement that had been signed did not oblige the government to pick the company should it choose to go ahead with the bridge construction, raising questions as to what the company sought to gain out of its €4 million offer.

But such questions were eclipsed by controversy when it was revealed that CCCC had been blacklisted by the World Bank until 2017 due to alleged fraudulent practices concerning a road project in the Philippines. However, Dr Muscat had brushed off concerns about the company’s apparent shady practices by arguing that its offer was too good to refuse.

“When the Chinese government offers its biggest company for a free feasibility study… we felt that we should accept the offer,” he had said at the time. On his visit to Beijing, where Dr Muscat and his Chinese counterpart Li Keqiang signed a Memorandum of Understanding providing for co- operation in various areas, the prime minister confirmed that CCCC’s blacklisting was not an issue by meeting its president Liu Qitao and other senior officials. During this meeting, CCCC officials maintained that they had established that building the bridge was technically feasible, while the prime minister was reported to have asked the company to broaden its study to give a greater consideration to environmental aspects.

Whether The Malta Independent was excluded to prevent it from asking questions about the blacklisting, of course, is anyone’s guess.

China, Malta to collaborate on investment, energy and infrastructure The stated aim of Dr Muscat’s visit to China was fulfilled yesterday, with the signing of the Memoran- dum of Understanding outlining the different sectors in which Malta and China have pledged to collabo- rate more closely. No other European country ap- pears to have signed a similar agreement with China so far: the government described it as “the first formal Medium-Term Cooperation Plan that China signed with a European country,” and said that Malta will benefit from investment and the technical and management capabilities of the Chinese as a result of it. Describing the agreement as future-looking and a further step forward in the relations between the two countries, Prime Minister Joseph Muscat said that, “this is an important milestone for our country and we are looking at investment from China with an open mind on a number of areas specified in the MoU. We discussed in- vestment in aviation, improvement of double-taxation agreements, financial services and new financial instruments for Chinese funding of projects in Malta.” Other areas of cooperation include the financial services sector, which will encourage financial institutions within their jurisdiction to operate in each other’s territories.

Malta and China agreed that tourism is an important industry in its own right and that the two governments shall facilitate and pro- mote the growth of tourism between the two countries. The two sides will also work closely on energy and infrastructure projects. This includes research and development in green and low car- bon energy, the development of renewable energy resources and production of energy saving equipment. Infrastructure projects could include breakwaters, bridges and monorail ventures. Exchanges will take place between research institutions and Universities. Confucius Classrooms will be established in selected Maltese schools to promote the study of the Chinese language and Chinese Universities will look at opening a fully- fledged Mediterranean campus. Airlines and cargo carriers will be encouraged to operate direct flights between the two countries while in- vestment in aircraft maintenance and repair will take place in both Malta and China. On the cultural side, there will be an exchange of performances and exhibitions and a project to translate and publish each other’s literary classics. Co-operation will be encouraged in film, television and digital games. There will also be sporting exchanges. The first meeting for the implementation of the plan will be held in November 2014. Deputy Prime Minister Louis Grech and China’s Executive Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs Zhang Yesui did the actual signing, in the presence of the two prime ministers. The Maltese delegation also included OPM Chief of Staff Keith Schembri, PL MP Deo Debattista and Sai Mizzi, Malta Enterprise’s envoy to Asia and Minister Konrad Mizzi’s wife.