Duterte pitches for exchange...
“The Philippines, which has a soft spot for our overseas Filipino workers, places importance to migrant workers who serve not only as crucial links to these connections but contribute to the development of both their home and host countries. With this, the Chief Executive urged the protection of their rights and promotion of their welfare as a shared responsibility,” Panelo said.
He added that President Duterte also used the Belt and Road Forum as an opportunity to redefine international cooperation.
“He articulated development assistance as a genuine tool to bring about positive change in the lives of our peoples. He also emphasized that development assistance should not foster dependence rather it should be based on reciprocal benefits. This should be the new normal, stressed the President,” Panelo said.
Duterte skips gala dinner
Meanwhile, President Duterte skipped the gala dinner of the Belt and Road Forum at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing Friday night.
Panelo said the President was suffering from migraine.
It was the third day of the President’s four-day visit to Beijing.
Prior to the gala dinner hosted by President Xi for the heads of states and government and other business leaders, Duterte witnessed the signing of 19 business agreements forged between Filipino and Chinese companies at the Grand Hyatt Hotel here.
Duterte also delivered a short speech that focused on his commitment to ensure a friendly business climate for the investors in the Philippines. He has also promised the foreign investors that he won’t tolerate corruption and instead ensure ease of doing business back home.
“We are pleased to announce that President Rodrigo Roa Duterte’s latest official visit to China resulted in 19 business agreements with an estimated investment value of US$12.165 billion. More than 21,000 of our fellow Filipinos are expected to be employed as a result thereof,” Panelo said.
He noted the new business agreements cover a wide range of areas from energy to the construction of an economic zone, from the design of a Green Textile Industry Park to airport expansion, from the construction of tourism related facilities to infrastructure for nationwide Wi-Fi connectivity. Also inked are agreements to train and introduce Filipino domestic helpers in China and supply of agricultural products, such as fresh pineapples and young coconuts, among others, he added.
“The President’s 4th visit to our Giant Neighbor in the North yielded positive results that will impact on the lives of many of our people leading to his goal of delivering a comfortable, secure and prosperous life for all Filipinos,” he said.
Reject protectionism
On Saturday, President Xi urged dozens of world leaders on Saturday to reject protectionism while inviting more countries to participate in his global infrastructure project after seeking to ease concerns surrounding the program.
Addressing 37 leaders from Europe, Africa, Asia, and Latin America, Xi made a new pitch for his cherished Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) as he kicked off the last day of a three-day forum.
The world's number two economy has been fighting a festering trade war with the United States for months, and Xi has long sought to take the mantle of the new world power open to multilateral cooperation and globalisation.
“We need to build an open world economy and reject protectionism,” Xi told leaders, including Russian President Vladimir Putin, Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte, and Pakistan's Imran Khan seated around a large round table at the idyllic Yanqi Lake retreat at the edge of Beijing.
A draft communique for the forum
seen by AFP similarly pledges to “reject protectionism” and “unilateralism” in an oblique swipe at President Donald Trump's “America first” presidency. US officials were not sent to the summit.
Xi's signature foreign policy aims to reinvent the ancient Silk Road to connect Asia to Europe and Africa through massive investments in maritime, road, and rail projects – with hundreds of billions of dollars in financing from Chinese banks.
“We need to encourage the full participation of more countries and companies, thus expanding the pie of common interests,” Xi said.
But critics say BRI is a plan to boost Beijing's global influence, riddled with opaque deals favoring Chinese companies and saddling nations with debt and environmental damage.
The United States, India and some European nations have looked at the project with suspicion.
Rising resistance
So far Chinese companies and workers have emerged as the primary beneficiaries as they are tapped to build the China-financed infrastructure in other developing countries.
BRI projects have faced pushback in some countries. In Malaysia, Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad cancelled some planned works and renegotiated a rail project cutting 30 percent off the price tag.
But Mohamad and other leaders attending the summit had fulsome praise for BRI.
The draft communique says BRI will welcome developed countries and international investors to participate in the projects.
The President was scheduled to join Xi and other world leaders for another round of meetings at the Yanqi Lake International Conference Center on Saturday. He is also expected to deliver another speech during the leaders’ roundtable session.
Duterte is expected to depart Beijing Saturday night, bringing home renewed economic and securities ties with China. (With a report from AFP)