Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, July 13) — The next five years will be crucial for the economic ties between the Manila and Beijing, according to Chinese Ambassador to the Philippines Huang Xilian.
Speaking at the China (Zhangzhou)-Philippines Economic and Trade Cooperation and Exchange Conference on Thursday, the Chinese envoy said he looks forward to more partnerships between local governments, entrepreneurs, and government officials to boost bilateral trade and investments of both countries.
The ambassador also urged more Chinese businessmen to invest in the Philippines following the consensus of Chinese leader Xi Jinping and President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. early this year to further strengthen economic cooperation.
\”Under the strategic guidance of our heads-of-state, China and the Philippines have worked together in multiple areas for synergy of development strategies and achieved fruitful results,\” Huang said.
In 2022, bilateral trade between Manila and Beijing reached $87.73 billion. China has been the Philippines’ largest trading partner for seven consecutive years, its largest source of imports, and largest export market.
\”President Xi and President Marcos agreed on deepening cooperation in four key areas: agriculture, infrastructure, energy, and people-to-people exchanges, which injected strong impetus to our pragmatic cooperation,\” Huang said.
\”The next five years are a crucial period for China to build a modern socialist country in all respects and for the Marcos Government to implement the eight-point socioeconomic agenda,\” the ambassador added.
The Marcos administration’s eight-point socioeconomic agenda includes protect purchasing power and mitigate socioeconomic scarring; reduce vulnerability and mitigate scarring from the COVID-19 pandemic; ensure sound macroeconomic fundamentals; create more jobs; create quality jobs; create green jobs; uphold public order and safety, peace and security; and ensure a level playing field.
