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8 9 OPENING LINES China ignored the US economic embargo to help Cuba after a 1963 hurricane.This economic superpower also came to the assistance of Grenada in2004,aftermore than90percentof the islandwasdestroyedbyHurricane Ivan.The351housingunitsChinapromisedtobuildfor those lefthomelessbythestormopened in late2012. China is reportedtohaveofferedaidtoCuba after Hurricane Irma.It has also committed $5million for the UnitedNations Development Program to assist the Caribbean’s storm recovery.China’s interest in the Ca- ribbean goes beyond disaster aid.During his 2013 visit toTrinidad andTobago,PresidentXi Jinping reportedly promised Caribbean nations a total of $3 billion in loans.His countryhas also financed infrastructure and industrial projects across the region. In Jamaica, Chinese state money built the $600 million, 42-mile “BeijingHighway”connecting Kingston to the tourist hub of Ocho Rios.China has also invested $3billion in Jamaican alumina plants. This brand of economicdiplomacy,which Beijing has also deployed inAfrica and Pakistan,for instance,pow- erfully strengthens China’s international influence.The U.S.knows that,and is keeping a close eye on Chinese incursions into itsmaritime backyard. Caribbean governmentsmust nowweigh the pros and cons of these different offers.On the one hand, these countries are so devastated that they simplycan- not recover without help.On the other,it’s somewhat risky to cede control over your territorybyallowing foreign agents to finance rebuilding.China’s project funding inAfrica has been dubbed“neocolonialism,” becausewhile the country studiouslyavoids political meddling,itsmoney shapes national development to reflect Chinese interests. Inaction, however, is not an option.A dozen Carib- bean countries were hit hard by hurricanes this year, and climate change promises to keep bringing ris- ing seas and stronger,more frequent storms. Rebuild- ing smarter is thus a priority for Caribbean nations,all of which signed the ParisAgreement.That 2015 accord pushes wealthier industrialized nations to commit moremoney to building resilience,but Europe has shown littlewillingness to complywith that provision and the U.S is abandoning the entire deal.