Xi meets Congress leaders, wraps up state visit

CHINESE President Xi Jinping on Wednesday wrapped up his two-day state visit to the Philippines, laying down to leaders of both chambers of the Philippine Congress his plans for the country, including creating more jobs for Filipinos, and a reaffirmation of stronger friendship between the Philippines and China.

President Rodrigo R. Duterte and Mr. Xi witnessed the exchange of 29 signed deals at Malacañang on Tuesday, most of which were memoranda of understanding (MoUs) covering a wide range of development initiatives on energy, infrastructure, agriculture, education, trade, monetary, and humanitarian assistance, among others.

‘EXPLORATORY DOCUMENTS’ Analysts sought for comment on Wednesday said these MoUs are mere “concepts” for now.

“The MoUs are just exploratory documents, but what is worth waiting for is how Congress will respond once these become agreements. We have to remember that all these agreements will not be binding unless Congress authorizes them. The role of Congress is to reaffirm whether all these agreements signed by the President are within the parameters of our Constitution,” University of Santo Tomas political science professor Marlon M. Villarin said in a phone interview.

For his part, international studies professor Renato C. de Castro of De La Salle University said these MoUs are similar to what were signed during Mr. Duterte’s first visit in Beijing in 2016 when he first “announced the country’s pivot to China.”

“Two years later, nothing much has been accomplished,” he said in a phone interview, adding that only a fraction of China’s loan pledges worth US$24 billion was released.

Ateneo Policy Center research fellow Michael Henry Ll. Yusingco said the “Chinese won’t even see the MoUs as merely a preliminary step.”

“I expect the signing of these MoUs will be packaged to them as essentially a done deal. And they will no longer be bothered to think otherwise,” he said in an email.

For his part, Union Bank of the Philippines chief economist Ruben Carlo O. Asuncion said the signing of the MoUs was “really tricky.”

“At least, there is some sort of paper that all parties can go back to. But, that’s really all there is to it. It’s very important that the Philippines be aware of what these supposed agreements really mean and how it can take advantage in the future,” he also said in an email.

Mr. Asuncion added that the visit actually “opens up economic opportunities for the country,” adding that “China is going to be the biggest economic power in the world in the next few years.”