The Philippine government and China signed Wednesday (January 4) a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Bank of China for financial support to facilitate investments in China and the Philippines.
Trade Undersecretary Ceferino Rodolfo and Bank of China Manila Branch head Hu Xinquan signed the agreement on the second day of the three-day state visit of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. to China.
The signing event took part during an investment briefing as part of the official program of the state visit.
Trade Secretary Alfredo Pascual assured the public that the Philippine delegation would push for the promotion of the country’s potential exports to China.
This is in line with the government’s goal to increase exports to China to $14.1 billion in the next few years, based from the export potential assessment released by the International Trade Center.
“The President’s visit to China is a recognition that it is an important trading and investment partner of our country. The visit will pave the way for further strengthening our trade and investment relations, particularly as we work to recover from the pandemic and position the Philippines as a regional hub for sustainable and innovative manufacturing and services industries,” Pascual said.
“The president’s visit to China also aims to build on our export gains and further strengthen relations with key partners in China to help the Philippines realize this additional export potential,” he said.
The DTI identified additional potential exports in the field of electronic equipment; electrical machinery; metals; optical products, watches, and medical instruments; fruits; motor vehicle parts; processed or preserved food products; and, fish and shellfish.
The DTI organized a series of roundtable meetings for the President during the state visit with major Chinese companies that have existing and planned investments in the Philippines.
Among the sectors identified for cooperation are agribusiness, renewable energy, steel making, nickel ore processing and battery production and electric vehicle manufacturing.