It was only in November last year that President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. first met Chinese President Xi Jinping, at the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Bangkok.
There, the Chinese leader invited President Marcos to go to Beijing for a state visit in early January.
The visit did take place from January 3 to 5. And the two leaders certainly brought bilateral relations to a new and higher level, as the brief visit yielded a bountiful harvest of agreements that will boost our efforts to revive our economy.
The Philippines secured fresh loans from China totaling $201.8 million for key infrastructure projects of the Marcos administration, including bridges and flood control systems.
China also agreed to make available about $218 million in additional funds for future projects. The additional funding brought to $1.06 billion Beijing’s loan commitments for Manila’s ongoing projects.
The state visit likewise yielded some $22.8 billion worth of investment pledges from China. These include $1.72 billion for agribusiness, $7.32 billion for strategic industries (electric vehicles, mineral processing), and $13.76 billion for renewable energy.
The Philippines also signed an agreement on economic and technical cooperation with the China International Development Cooperation Agency.
The agreement earmarks 1.5 billion renminbi—equivalent to about $217.7 million or P12.2 billion —for “projects to be agreed (on) between China and the Philippines based on the development plan and specific needs of the Philippine government.”
Beijing and Manila signed 12 other cooperation documents, including a memorandum of agreement on digital and information and communications technology; a joint action plan on agricultural and fisheries during the period 2023-2025; an MOU on electronic commerce; and a protocol of phytosanitary requirements for the export to China of fresh durian from the Philippines.
The two sides also agreed to tackle other bilateral issues.
One is an agreement on the establishment of a direct communication mechanism on maritime issues between the respective ministries of foreign affairs of both countries.
This is aimed at avoiding any miscommunication or misunderstanding between the two countries on South China Sea concerns.
President Xi Jinping assured President Marcos that China is committed to “find a compromise and find a solution” for Filipino fishermen to resume fishing in their traditional fishing grounds in the West Philippine Sea.
President Xi also informed our Chief Executive that China is ready to resume oil and gas talks and manage maritime issues in a cordial manner.
This is significant as it indicates willingness on the part of Beijing to negotiate contentious issues in the South China Sea.
All this tells us that, as President Marcos said before leaving Manila for Beijing last January 3, a “new chapter” in bilateral relations anchored on mutual interests is now being written, with immense beneficial results for Philippine economic development in the years ahead.