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By Katrice R. Jalbuena, Reporter
Under the Arroyo administration,
the relationship with China appears to have become the most
important.
As a reflection of this
importance, China has the most number of Philippine diplomatic
postings in one country. Besides the main Embassy in Beijing—which
is fully staffed with divisions devoted to activities focusing on
the political, economic and cultural relations—the Philippines has
four Consulate Generals (Guangzhou, Hong Kong, Shanghai, Xiamen) in
the People’s Republic of China.
Three more will be opened before
the end of 2008.
A new Consulate General in
Macau is set to service the needs of the estimated 18, 000 OFWs in
the former Portuguese colony.
Consulate Generals are also to be
established in the western cities provinces of Chongqing and Chengdu
both of which have a growing presence of Filipinos and
Filipino-Chinese investments.
The PRC has an embassy in Manila
headed by Ambassador Song Tao and a Consulate in Cebu and Laoag.
According to the Department of
Foreign Affairs, President Gloria Arroyo has repeatedly stressed the
importance of a healthy, comprehensive and long-term relationship
with the PRC.
Efforts to further cultivate this
relationship were accelerated after the 30th anniversary in 2005 of
the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries
in 1975.
High-level visits
There have been an increasing
frequency in high-level exchange of visits.
President Gloria Arroyo herself
has visited China four times in the period between October 2006 to
October 2007. She has been to 12 cities, including Xiamen, Jinjian,
Nanchang, Guilin, Nanning, Hong Kong, Haikou, Boao, Chengdu,
Chongqing, Shanghai and Yantai.
President Arroyo paid a state
visits to China in September 2004 which resulted in an MOU
(memorandum of understanding) on Defence Cooperation which was
signed in Beijing in November 2004.
The MOU represented a major
confidence-building step for the two countries progressing beyond
exercises in fisheries and marine environment protection to regular
military-to-military exchanges.
Military connection
The Armed Forces of the
Philippines (AFP) has availed itself of 10 courses in China from
2001 to 2006. Filipino military men were trained in language,
military security management, command courses and special operations
command courses.
The first RP-China Annual Defense
and Security Dialogue was held in May 2005 in Manila.
China has donated a total of $6
million in equipment, supplies, and engineering equipment to the AFP
since 2004.
Investments and Infrastructure
Several agreements about
important investment and infrastructure projects were signed. These
include:
Memorandum of Understanding
between North Luzon Railways Corp. and China National Machinery and
Equipment Corporation Group (CNMEG) which provides for the
undertaking by CNMEG of a feasibility study of the construction of
Phase I, Section 2 (Malolos-Clark) of the NorthRail project. The
feasibility study will be completed within 100 days, after which
both sides will have further discussions on the financing
arrangements in accordance with the respective procedures and
standards of the governments of the Philippines and China. This
would lead on to the simultaneous construction of Section 1 (Kalookan-Malolos)
and Section 2 (Malolos-Clark) of the Northrail by 2008. These
projects are now in advanced stages.
An Agreement for Seismic
Undertaking for Certain Areas in the South China Sea by and Between
China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC) and Philippine
National Oil Company (PNOC). The agreement provides for PNOC and
CNOOC to undertake a joint seismic study of an agreed area in the
South China Sea for three years to gather and process data on
stratigraphy, tectonics and structural fabric of the subsurface of
the area. The agreement has no reference to petroleum exploration
and production and provides for the participation of the national
oil company of a third country.
Memorandum of Understanding
Between the Republic of the Philippines and the People’s Republic
of China on Fisheries Cooperation. The MOU pursues technical
cooperation in the areas of aquaculture, post-harvest development,
coastal fisheries management, marine fisheries conservation,
research, and education. It also suggests the possibility of future
discussions between the Philippines and China on a joint cooperative
fishing area in accordance with the laws of both countries and the
UN Convention on the Law of the Sea.
Implementation Program of the
Memorandum of Understanding on Tourism Cooperation Between the
Department of Tourism (DOT) and the China National Tourism
Administration (CNTA). The document contains the implementation
program for the MOU on Tourism Cooperation, which was signed in
Beijing on September 11, 2002. The MOU implementation program
fosters cooperation between the DOT and its counterpart the China
National Tourism Adminisration in areas such as the exchange of
tourism professionals and administrators, joint promotion, language
and cultural training, exchange of sales missions and tourism
investment.
Agreement between the Government
of the Republic of the Philippines and the Government of the
People’s Republic of China on Mutual Visa Exemption for Holders of
Diplomatic and Official/Service Passports.
In January of 2007, China Premier
Wen Jiabao made an official visit to Manila. This resulted in the
signing of 15 landmark government-to-government agreements and 15
other agreements (mostly in the agriculture and fisheries sector)
which includes the Framework Agreement on Expanding and Deepening
Bilateral Economic and Trade Cooperation.
The Philippines and China are
also drafting the Joint Action Plan for Strategic Cooperation which
aims to provide strategic direction to the bilateral relations of
the countries in all aspects. The finalizing of the text of the plan
is going on. It is targeted to be signed and implemented within the
year.
Trade
Trade and economic cooperation
between China and the Philippines are an important part of foreign
relation policy. However, there are several conflicting statistics
on just how much the monetary value of these investments are.
According to the Philippine
National Statistics Office (PNSO), bilateral trade has been growing
at an average annual growth rate of 41.39 percent since 2001. In
2006, bilateral trade with China amounted to $8.2 billion with RP
exports amounting to $4.6 billion and imports amounting to $3.7
billion. This makes China the Philippines third largest trading
partner after the US and Japan.
According to the PNSO’s
available data as processed by the DTI-Bureau of Export Trade
Promotion, RP-China trade for January to October of 2007 amounted to
$8.1 billion with RP exports amounting to $4.8 billion and imports
from China amounting to $3.3 billion.
China’s figures higher
However, according to the China
General Administration of Customs, China is already supposed to be
the Philippines No. 1 trading partner. According to their figures,
bilateral trade amounted to $23.4 billion in 2006, increasing 33.3
percent over that of $17.67 billion in 2005. RP Exports amounted to
$17.67 billion, while imports from China reached $5.74 billion.
Based on the latest figures
released by the General Administration of Customs in China (as
relayed to the DFA by the Chinese Embassy in Manila), RP-China Trade
for 2007 amounted to $30.62 billion an increase of 30.8 percent grom
$23.4 billion in 2006 and an increase in 33.3 percent from $17.59
billion in 2005. Exports to China in 2007 amounted to $23 billion
while imports reached $7 billion.
BOI figures
Based on Statistics of the Board
of Investments, total approved Chinese investments amounted to $
381.5 million in 2006 or around 14.4 percent of total foreing
investments in the Philippines. Chinese investments were directed
ainly to manufacturing of garments and packaging materials and very
minimal in semiconductors.
The government is also
campaigning to increase tourism between China and the Philippines.
According to the DOT, 133,585 Mainland Chinese tourists entered the
Philippines in 2006 an increase of 24 percent from 107, 456 in 2005.
This makes China one of the fastest growing sources of tourism
arrivals in the Philippines.
China is also emerging as an
important development partner for the Philippines. China is
providing significant development assistance loans for big-ticket,
high-impact projects.
Loans
To date, China has given the
Philippines $1.1 billion worth of concessional and/or preferential
buyers credit to implement the Northrail Projects, Phase I, Section
1 ($400 million), Section I, Phase 2 ($ 500 million); the
Non-Intrusive Container Inspection System Phase I and II ($ 150
million); the Banaoang Pump Irrigation Project ($ 25 million); and
the General Santos Fishport Complex Expansion/Improvement Project
($35 million).
China has also pledged to provide
$ 900 million more worth of financing facility. The projects which
will be funded by this have not been identified yet. However,
projects already in the pipeline for financing by China include the
Mainline South Railway Project Phase I, the Low Cost Housing Project
and the Angat Water Utilization and Aqueduct Improvement Project
Phase II.
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