The governments of the Philippines and the People’s Republic of China have signed and exchanged six bilateral documents on the feasibility studies for two big-ticket projects under President Duterte’s centerpiece “Build, Build, Build” program and four other agreements covering areas of cooperation in trade, customs and communications.

Chinese Vice Premier Hu Chunhua and Philippine officials led by Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez III witnessed the signing and exchange of the bilateral documents, which followed the high-level meeting held Thursday morning between the two countries to discuss the progress of their financing cooperation and development initiatives.

“We welcome this high-level engagement, as we underscore the importance of assessing where we stand, while providing added impetus in our efforts to achieve our objectives and deliverables,” Secretary Dominguez said at the start of the meeting held at the Ayuntamiento de Manila headquarters of the Bureau of the Treasury (BTr) in Intramuros, Manila.

Vice Premier Hu, in response, said: “I’ll be happy to work together with you, Mr. Secretary, to implement the important consensus of our two heads of state and to promote the better development of our cooperation.”

The Chinese leader noted that as a result of the concerted efforts between the Philippines and China, bilateral trade between the two countries, based on Chinese data, amounted to USD55 billion in 2018 and reached USD 44 billion in the first three quarters of this year.

“It is fair to say that against the backdrop of a slowdown in the growth of the global economy, such achievement is not easy to gain,” Vice Premier Hu said.

Vice Premier Hu also cited the significant increase in Chinese investments in the Philippines and the increasing number of Chinese tourist arrivals here, which, he said all “fully demonstrate the enormous potentials between us and our cooperation.”

During the meeting at the BTr’s Sala de Sesiones, Secretary Dominguez thanked Vice Premier Hu and the Chinese government for their unwavering assistance and cooperation in implementing the consensus reached between President Duterte and Chinese President Xi Jinping in 2016, especially on the implementation of the Duterte administration’s priority projects.

“We very much look forward to working hand in hand with you in pursuing mutually beneficial results for both our countries,” Secretary Dominguez said.

Secretary Dominguez also underscored the Philippines’ strong interest in exploring opportunities to integrate the “Build, Build, Build” program into China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) to help accelerate the implementation of the Duterte administration’s flagship infrastructure projects, “while at the same time bolstering our position in the global value chain.”

The two sides also exchanged views on how to further enhance trade relations and speed up the implementation of Philippine infrastructure projects with funding support from China.

They also discussed the Philippines’ participation in the China-led Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) Agreement and the upcoming Chinese International Import Expo in Shanghai in November.

After the meeting, four handover certificates were exchanged between Philippine and Chinese officials. They cover the following cooperation agreements:

· Feasibility study for the Davao City Expressway Project conducted by CCCC Highway Consultants Co., Ltd., and funded by grant financing from the Chinese government.

The signing and exchange of documents were done by Public Works Secretary Mark Villar and Chinese Vice Commerce Minister and Deputy China International Trade Representative Wang Shouwen;

· Feasibility study for the Panay-Guimaras-Negros Island Bridge Project, which was also conducted by CCCC Highway Consultants Co., Ltd., and funded by a grant from the Chinese government.

Secretary Villar and Vice Minister Wang signed and exchanged the documents;

· The Philippine Radio Equipment Project, which provides for the Chinese donation of broadcasting equipment to the Philippine Broadcasting Service (PBS) of the Presidential Communications Operations Office (PCOO). The donation includes, among others, live broadcast room equipment, FM broadcast transmitter equipment, and medium wave transmitter equipment.

The signing and exchange was done between PCOO Secretary Martin Andanar and Vice Minister Wang; and

· The China-Aid Container Testing Equipment covering the donation of four sets of Mobile Container/ Vehicle Inspection System and two sets of CT Scan Inspection System to the Bureau of Customs (BOC).

The signing and exchange was done between BOC Commissioner Rey Leonardo Guerrero and Vice Minister Wang.

Two other bilateral documents were signed and exchanged on:

· The implementation of the Marawi Sports Complex and Central Market Projects as part of the reconstruction program for the devastated city of Marawi through an exchange of letters between Secretary Villar and Deng Boqing, the Vice Chairman of the China International Development Cooperation Agency (CIDCA).

The project, consisting of two components, has a total floor area of about 13,202 square meters. The 6,504 sq,m-Sports Complex, located in the northeastern outer suburbs of Marawi City, can hold up to 1,000 people, while 7,148-sq,m.-Central Market, located in the eastern suburbs, will include a functional area and equipment rooms; and

· The Protocol on Phytosanitary Requirements for the Export of Avocado from the Philippines to China, which was signed andexchanged between Agriculture Secretary William Dar and Zou Zhiwu, the Vice Minister of General Administration of Customs of China (GACC).

This protocol was formulated after the Department of Agriculture (DA)’s Bureau of Plant Industry (BPI), in coordination with the GACC, completed the risk assessment and on-site inspection for the Philippine market access of fresh has avocado for export to China. With China as among the world’s largest consumer markets, this accord is expected to raise incomes and create more jobs in the farm sector.

The other Philippine officials at the BTr meeting included Secretaries Ernesto Pernia of the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA); Undersecretaries Abdulgani Macatoman of the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) and Jose Arturo De Castro of the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT); and Vivencio Dizon, the president-CEO of the Bases Conversion and Development Authority (BCDA) and presidential adviser for flagship programs and projects.

The Chinese delegation included Chinese Ambassador to the Philippines Zhao Jianhua; Gao Yu, the Deputy Secretary-General of the State Council; Vice Foreign Minister Zheng Zeguang; Xie Ping, the Vice President of the Export-Import Bank of China; Xu Chang, the Director-General Level Commissioner, General Office of the State Council; and Peng Gang, the Director-General of the Department of Asian Affairs of the Ministery of Commerce.

With the warming of bilateral relations between the Philippines and China since the start of the Duterte administration in 2016, the two countries have so far signed three loan agreements amounting to USD493.08 million.

The Philippines has also secured a total of USD 430.82 million worth of grants from China since 2016.

-oOo-