Key Cabinet members in China to pursue talks on investment deals
THE Cabinet’s economic team, including the Transportation and Public Works Secretaries, is due in Beijing today to bring forward talks on the $15-billion investment deals signed in October during President Rodrigo R. Duterte’s visit to China.
According to a statement from the Department of Finance (DoF), the delegation will meet with Chinese officials regarding government-to-government projects.
The visit will last for two days, led by Finance Secretary Carlos G. Dominguez III, Budget Secretary Benjamin E. Diokno, Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Ernesto M. Pernia, Transportation Secretary Arthur P. Tugade, and Public Works and Highways Secretary Mark A. Villar.
The delegation will tackle proposed projects for financing and feasibility studies; the Philippines’ chairmanship of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations ( ASEAN); and matters concerning Philippine membership in the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB), and flagship infrastructure projects such as the PNR South Line, the Mindanao Railway and the Subic-Clark Railway.
This was a follow- up to the visit of National Development and Reform Commission ( NDRC) Deputy Chairman Ning Jizhe last November, where officials laid out the groundwork to allow both countries to fast-track the implementation of the projects.
The Philippine delegation is due to meet with Vice- Premier Wang Yang, Commerce Minister Gao Hucheng, NDRC Chairman Xu Shaoshi, and top off icials from the China Investment Corp.
The Philippines is set to raise almost P1 trillion in Official Development Assistance from the $9 billion pledged by China, and $9 billion by Japan.
According to Mr. Dominguez, the unprecedented pledges of aid and investments by Japan and China “reflect the strong confidence of the international community in the Duterte administration’s capability to sustain the Philippines’ high growth path and realize its inclusive growth agenda.”
The agreements between the Philippines and China were: the Production Capacity and Investment Cooperation and the Agreement on Economic and Technological Cooperation.
Also agreed were plans to draft the ChinaPhilippine Economic Cooperation Development Plans and the Tourism Implementation Plan 2017-2022, the Lists of Transportation and Infrastructure Cooperation Projects and Financing Cooperation arrangements with the ExportImport Bank of China. —