China urged to even up economic ties with Philippines

Local business and government executives urged China to do more in terms of im­proving economic ties with the Philippines after President Duterte’s state visit to the Asian giant.

At the Philippines-China Trade and Investment Forum at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing during the President’s visit, Trade and Industry Secretary Ramon Lopez encouraged China to even up trade and investments for both sides. Although the relationship between the two countries has had its highs and lows, China is the Philippines’s second major trading partner, with $17 billion value in total trade.

China is also the country’s fourth larg­est export market and top import supplier. As of 2015, China was the 14th investment source of the Philippines in terms of Investment Promo­tion Agencies (IPA) or ap­proved investments.

But in terms of invest­ments, the relationship is skewed.

The Philippines has in­vested $75 million in China as of 2012 while China invest­ed only $570,000 as of 2015, according figures collected by the Makati Business Club (MBC). “We are confident of a further improvement of these figures, as we take our renewed relationship to the next level,” the MBC said, however.

“The $17 billion total trade level can double or triple in a few years,” Lopez told his audience. “Huge opportuni­ties still await that can easily leapfrog the level of Chinese business transactions with the Philippines.”

Noting that the influx of Chinese tourists in the Philip­pines in 2015 reached 500,000, the trade chief also expressed optimism that the figure can be increased by two to four times, considering that there are over 100 million Chinese tourists in the world today.

Current Philippines ex­ports to China of about $6 million can likewise be dou­ bled, as China’s total imports to the world amount to $2 tril­lion, according to Lopez.

Lopez said Mr. Duter­te’s goodwill with China has led to the signing of several Memoranda of Understand­ing (MOUs) now amounting to $24 billion, generating over two million jobs for Filipinos in five years.

“Under President Dute­rte’s effective peace initiatives and inspiring leadership that are bringing the needed change in many fronts, the Philippines and Chinese business commu­nities are sincerely optimistic now, more than ever, in seeing Philippine-Chinese business ties soar to an unprecedented high levels in the near future,” Lopez added.

MBC said it welcomed the administration’s push to revi­talize the country’s relation­ship with China.

“Given China’s stature as a major player in global affairs, and the Philippines’s steady economic rise, both our countries stand to benefit from renewed and much clos­er ties, particularly in trade and investment,” MBC said in a statement.

China’s expertise in infra­structure will be critical to the Philippines’ development, as we seek to close the massive infrastructure gap that has been suppressing the coun­try’s growth for the past years, it added.

The government, however, expects Chinese investments to rise in the coming months as a result of 13 agreements signed during Mr. Duterte’s state visit to China. These are:

■ The Philippines-Chi­nese Agreement on Economic and Technical Cooperation.

■ The Memorandum of Understanding between the National Economic and Development Authority (Neda) and China’s Nation­al Development and Reform Commission for Developing Cooperation on Production Capacity and Investment.

■ The Memorandum of Understanding between the Department of Transporta­tion and the Department of Public Works and Highways, on the one hand, and China’s National Development and Reform Commission, on the other hand, on Transporta­tion Infrastructure Coopera­tion Project List.
■ The Memorandum of Understanding between the Department of Trade and In­dustry and China’s Ministry of Commerce on Strength­ening Bilateral Trade, Invest­ment and Economic Cooper­ation.

■ The Memorandum of Understanding between the Neda and China’s Ministry of Commerce on Formulation of the Development Program for Economic Cooperation.

■ The Memorandum of Understanding between the Department of Finance and China’s Ministry of Com­merce on Supporting the Conduct of Feasibility Stud­ies for Major Projects.

■ The 2017-2019 Action Plan on Agricultural Coop­eration between the Depart­ment of Agriculture and Chi­na’s Ministry of Agriculture.

■ The Memorandum of Agreement between China’s State Council Information Office and the Presiden­tial Communications Op­erations Office on News and Information Exchange, Training and for other Pur­poses.

■ The Memorandum of Understanding between the Department of Agricul­ture and China’s General Administration of Quality Supervision Inspection and Quarantine on Cooperation of Animal and Plant Inspec­tion and Quarantine.

■ The Memorandum of Understanding between the Philippine Coast Guard and the China Coast Guard on the Establishment of a Joint Coast Guard Committee on Maritime Cooperation.

■ The 2017-2022 Im­plementation Program of the Memorandum of Un­derstanding on Tourism Cooperation between the Department of Tourism and China’s National Tourism Administration.

■ The Protocol on Co­operation between the Phil­ippine Drug Enforcement Agency and the Narcotics Control Bureau of the Chi­na’s Ministry of Public Se­curity.

■ The Memorandum of Understanding on Financ­ing Cooperation between the Export-Import Bank of China and the Philippines, represented by the Depart­ment of Finance.