Manila, Hainan eye tourism, agri-fisheries tie-ups

The Philippines and China’s Hainan province are exploring ways to enhance their cooperation in the areas of tourism, agriculture and fisheries, the Department of Finance (DOF) said yesterday.

In a statement, Finance Secretary Carlos G. Dominguez III said that he recently met with officials of the islandprovince in China, led by CPC Hainan Committee Secretary General Liu Cigui.

During their meeting, Dominguez said they discussed the possibility of opening maritime cruise tours to further boost tourism between Manila and Hainan, which will complement the direct flight route that they are eyeing between the Chinese province and Cebu.

China Southern Airlines currently offers direct flights from Manila to Sanya, Hainan’s southern city.

The Hainan officials, said that in the field of agricultural and fisheries cooperation, they are eyeing more exports of Philippine tropical fruits and vegetables as well as providing assistance to the Philippines in producing high-yielding hybrid rice.

Liu said their visit aims to explore ways of “pragmatic cooperation” between Hainan and the Philippines.

“We came here to implement the consensus agreements between President Xi Jinping and President Duterte,” Liu also said, referring to the slew of cooperation deals signed between the two leaders during Philippine leader’s state visit to China last year.

Dominguez, for his part, welcomed the opportunity to expand cooperation with Hainan.