Philippines lines up 5 economic agreements with China

MANILA, Philippines — The Philippines is expected to sign at least five economic agreements with China during President Xi Jinping’s visit to the country in November, the Department of Finance (DOF) said yesterday.

Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez said the agreements include loans and guarantees, economic and technical cooperation, support for the feasibility studies on the Philippines’ infrastructure projects, and documents promoting cooperation on key Build Build Build projects in Mindanao.

A high-level delegation from China visited Davao City yesterday to discuss with Philippine officials the details of the economic agreements that are expected to be signed during Xi’s visit.

Discussions during the meeting focused on the status of the economic cooperation agreements and documents between the two countries, particularly those covering China’s funding support for the Duterte administration’s Build Build Build program.

Dominguez said the agreements slated to be signed during Xi’s visit are all on track.

During the meeting, the finance chief also informed China on Philippines’ move to form a technical working group to orient Philippine officials on the organizational structure, procedures and financing terms of the newly formed China International Development Cooperation Agency (CIDCA).

Both countries also inked three bilateral documents, which include cooperation in the fields of infrastructure, law enforcement and calamity assistance, during the meeting.

These include the 50 million renminbi grant for the Supply of Law Enforcement-related Materials or Equipment to the Philippines, and the exchange of letters for the Feasibility Study of the Davao River Bridge (Bucana) Project, which were signed by Philippine Ambassador to China Jose Santiago Sta. Romana and Chinese Ambassador Zhao Jianhua.

Zhao and Defense Undersecretary Ricardo Jalad also signed a $1 million grant agreement for the victims to Typhoon Vinta in 2017.

Dominguez described the meeting as a productive dialogue, which he hoped would help continue the expanding economic, trade and investment cooperation between Manila and Beijing.

Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi, for his part, underscored the importance of economic cooperation in strengthening bilateral relations between the Philippines and China, as well as its impact on the well-being of both countries.

He cited the significant growth of two-way trade between the Philippines and China, as well as the rising number of Chinese investments in the Philippines.

“The economic cooperation between our two countries now are in a good position,” Wang said.