Prime Minister Gaston Browne has confirmed that Antigua and Barbuda’s non-resident Ambassador to China, Brian Stuart-Young, is stepping down after 11 years as he bade farewell t0 outgoing Chinese Ambassador Zhang Yanli at a ceremony here on Monday night.
‘I have been in politics for some 26 years and I have had to interact with Chinese ambassadors.and I must say that Ambassador Zhang is one of the most effective and one of the most professional ambassadors that has served Antigua and Barbuda from China,’ Prime Minister Browne said.
Prime Minister Gaston Browne and outgoing Chinese diplomat, Zhang Yanli.
He said the fact that the government was hosting the special reception speaks volume to the tremendous work that the Chinese diplomat had been able to accomplish during her tenure.
‘It’s not very often that we hold these functions for a departing ambassador,’ he said, recalling that the ambassador arrived here during the COVID-19 pandemic and immediately sprang into action to secure vaccines and other assistance from China for Antigua and Barbuda. During her tenure she arranged funding support for SIDS4 and the OAS General Assembly as well as her signature project, the Booby Alley Housing Development.
Foreign Affairs Minister, E.P Chet Greene, said it is with a touch of sadness that he was saying farewell to ‘a true friend of Antigua and Barbuda’
‘For the past four years, Ambassador Zhang has not just been the head of the Chinese Mission, she has been a dedicated architect of a stronger partnership between our two nations. Reflecting on her tenure, one thing is without doubt: she has profoundly strengthened the bonds of friendship and cooperation,’ he said.
In response, Ambassador Zhang admitted that leaving Antigua and Barbuda was a particularly hard thing to do.
‘At this bittersweet moment, what fills me most is how valuable we both regard the good relationship between our two countries and people. We have always been joining our efforts to stand on the right side of history,’ she stated.
She said that China appreciates Antigua and Barbuda’s long-standing commitment to the one-China principle adding that ‘China firmly supports Antigua and Barbuda in pursuing development paths suited to its national conditions, safeguarding its sovereignty and independence’.
Meanwhile, Stuart-Young has described his service as ‘a privilege to serve the people of Antigua and Barbuda as an adopted son’.
He first visited China in 1983 as part of then prime minister V.C. Bird’s inaugural delegation and was later appointed by Browne in 2014.
‘When I presented my credentials to President Xi, it was part of a reconnection for me as I was part of the original delegation that accompanied then Prime Minister V.C Bird when he made his inaugural trip to China back in 1983.
‘I have watched and have been part of events in the early days with Prime Minister Bird and when the Gaston Browne Administration came in in 2014, the prime minister invited me to serve as non-resident ambassador. I have worked with four Chinese ambassadors over this period,’ he said.
Stuart-Young said he has been part of all the major negotiations between Antigua and Barbuda and China over the past 11 years from the modernization of the seaport, the community centres, the Booby Alley Housing project and many other developments.
‘I think my proudest moment was when the prime minister came to China in January, 2024, as I was pleased to open an embassy in Beijing for Antigua and Barbuda,’ he added.