China connects to PHL via BRI, digital ‘Silk Road’
AMBASSADOR of the People’s Republic of China Huang Xilian has confirmed that in the first five months of this year, contracts amounting to $3.11 billion, or about P155.5 billion, were signed for Chinese projects in the Philippines.
According to the envoy, the number of projects were “up 29.5 percent year-on-year. The completed turnover was at $970 million [around P48.5 billion, or an increase of 13.2 percent from last year].”
Citing Chinese statistics, Huang said bilateral trade reached $19.37 billion in the first five months of this year, as his country remains the largest trading partner of the Philippines.
“China's [foreign] direct investments in the Philippines [in the same period last year was at] $18.25 million, up 82.5 percent year-on-year,” he stated.
In a statement, Huang noted the communist country has strengthened coordination between the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) and the Philippines’s “Build, Build, Build” infrastructure program, under a joint memorandum of understanding.
"It was through this project that China has coordinated epidemic prevention and control, resumed work and production, and promoted the construction of key cooperation projects in the Philippines," he said, then added, "This has helped stabilize the local economy, ensuring employment and improving people's livelihood in the country.”
PHL ‘priority’ in the pandemic
THE ambassador reiterated a previous commitment that when a coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) vaccine is developed and put into use, “China will give priority by providing it to the Philippines as a global public good.”
Marking the 2020 as the 45th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties between China and the Philippines, Huang said this year also witnessed “the profound friendship between our two countries in our common battle against the pandemic that has swept the world.”
In the fight against the contagion, he said both nations have forged closer partnership through anticovid-19 cooperation, setting a good example for international cooperation.
At present, both countries are making every effort to accelerate the resumption of work and help the public resume their normal state of lives.
Huang said since the outbreak, the Philippines has provided valuable support to China, as the latter is also working through various channels to fully support this country’s resistance to the virus, “including the timely dispatch of experienced medical experts to the Philippines and [provision of medical materials...]”
Since the pandemic started, the Chinese diplomat averred that his government has provided the Philippines with “252,000 testing reagents, 130 ventilators, 1.87 million medical masks, protective suits, goggles and other epidemic-prevention materials.”
A large number of Chinese local-government enterprises and civil groups, he revealed, had donated “tens of millions sets of [personal protective equipment] and other medical supplies to different local governments and hospitals in the Philippines.”
“As the most serious global crisis since the WWII, the pandemic has had a far-reaching impact on the economic development of countries, including China and the Philippines, from both ends of demand and supply, with people traveling restricted, [as well as] global production and supply chains disrupted,” Huang commented.
He said China was able to curb the spread of virus rapidly and took the lead in driving to the resumption of business and production.
BRI and ‘Build, Build, Build’
THE ambassador claimed that against the backdrop of Covid-19’s spread, “China, the Philippines and other BRI partners have accelerated their cooperation in the field of public health, and are committed to building a ‘Health Silk Road.’ [including] a community of common health for mankind.”
The BRI is an ambitious project connecting Asia with Africa and Europe via land and maritime networks along six corridors, with the aim of improving regional integration, increasing trade and stimulating economic growth. Some 138 countries—the Philippines included—and 30 international organizations have joined the BRI.
“China [considers] the BRI as the most important platform to strengthen dialogue and cooperation with the Philippines and other countries along [its] route,” was his claim.
At the same time, Huang said China is continuing to synergize the BRI with the Philippines’s “Build, Build, Build,” while steadily carrying out major cooperation projects in infrastructure construction, further consolidating and upgrading China-philippines relations. The infrastructure projects include ports, railways, highways, power stations, aviation and telecommunications.
The envoy added there will be more Chinese-financed projects in the country to buoy up the local economic recovery and improvement of people's livelihood. Huang asserted there has been steady progress made in Chinese-assisted key projects, such as the two bridges over the Pasig River in Manila and the Philippine National Railways South Long Haul Project.
Meanwhile, the Philippines’s third telecommunication carrier, Dito Telecommunity Corp., where Chinese companies have participated in, “has now come to the stage of full construction,” as work and production have been proceeding smoothly.
The ambassador promised there will be more Chinese cooperative projects in the Philippines in the future.
Silk Road e-commerce
ACCORDING to the Chinese diplomat, China and the Philippines have been negotiating on the establishment of a “fast track” for two-way essential travel and a “green channel” for the smooth flow of goods to ensure the stability of the industrial and supply chains.
“Thanks to the joint efforts of [our governments], the BRI has given full play in terms of creating vitality and opportunities to bilateral economic and trade exchanges,” Huang said.
He added that during the pandemic, new industries and business modes have emerged, creating new lifestyles such as working-from-home, telecommuting and e-commerce, among others.
Companies from the two countries have made active use of the “Silk Road e-commerce” platform to give full play to the advantages of cross-border e-commerce, and are “working hard” to address challenges brought by the pandemic to cross-border trade and investments, Huang said.
Even as epidemic prevention and control worldwide has become the new norm, Huang said China “will actively explore with the Philippines [in strengthening e-commerce cooperation, 5G, big data, artificial intelligence and cloud computing.”
“By building a ‘Digital Silk Road’ and a ‘Green Silk Road,’ we [promote not only] the economic recovery on the basis of transformation and upgrading, but also achieve a high-quality sustainable development, benefiting our two peoples,” he concluded.