President Rodrigo Duterte announced that he signed 13 agreements with the Chinese government as the Philippines rekindled its friendship with Asia’s giant. (Earl O. Condeza/davaotoday.com)
DAVAO CITY, Philippines – President Rodrigo Duterte announced that he signed 13 agreements with the Chinese government as the Philippines rekindled its friendship with Asia’s giant.
During his arrival speech at the Davao International Airport late night Friday, Duterte said the agreements he signed, which are mostly economic in nature, is valued at $24 billion worth of loans and business deals.
“Our government signed 13 agreements, mostly economic in nature, and these agreements provide the framework to which we carry out intensified cooperation between the Philippines and China,” he said.
He said the agreements are also expected to generate two million jobs for Filipinos in the next five years.
Duterte visited China from October 18 to 21 where he reaffirmed the centuries-old ties with the Chinese in a bilateral meeting with President Xi Jinping and other Chinese officials.
Duterte also said that the Philippines have open opened “formal lines of communications” with China as the regular bilateral consultations are resumed after several years it was “put on hold”.
The President also said that both countries have acknowledged the need to address disputes through peaceful means and in accordance with the international law.
“We also agreed to continue discussions through confidence building measures, including a bilateral consultation mechanism to discuss immediate issues of concern,” he said about the China-PH sea row.
To maintain stability we also concluded an agreement between our coastguards for general cooperation to minimize incidents at sea.
Here are the agreements signed between the Philippines and China:
- Agreement on Economic and Technical Cooperation between the Government of the Republic of the Philippines and the Government of the People’s Republic of China
- Memorandum of Understanding between the National Economic and Development Authority of the Republic of the Philippines and the National Development and Reform Commission of the People’s Republic of China for Developing Cooperation on Production Capacity and Investment
- Memorandum of Understanding between the Department of Transportation and the Department of Public Works and Highways of the Republic of the Philippines and the National Development and Reform Commission of the People’s Republic of China on Transportation Infrastructure Cooperation Project List
- Memorandum of Understanding between the Department of Trade and Industry of the Republic of the Philippines and the Ministry of Commerce of the Government of the People’s Republic of China on Strengthening Bilateral Trade, Investment and Economic Cooperation
- Memorandum of Understanding between the National Economic and Development Authority of the Republic of the Philippines and the Ministry of Commerce of the People’s Republic of China on Formulation of the Development Program for Economic Cooperation
- Memorandum of Understanding between the Department of Finance of the Republic of the Philippines and the Ministry of Commerce of the People’s Republic of China on Supporting the Conduct of Feasibility Studies for Major Projects
- Action Plan on Agricultural Cooperation between the Department of Agriculture of the Republic of the Philippines and the Ministry of Agriculture of the People’s Republic of China 2017-2019
- Memorandum of Agreement between the State Council Information Office of the People’s Republic of China and the Presidential Communications Operations Office of the Government of the Republic of the Philippines on News and Information Exchange, Training and for other Purposes
- Memorandum of Understanding between the Department of Agriculture of the Republic of the Philippines and the General Administration of Quality Supervision Inspection and Quarantine of the People’s Republic of China on Cooperation of Animal and Plant Inspection and Quarantine
- Memorandum of Understanding between the Philippine Coast Guard and the China Coast Guard on the Establishment of a Joint Coast Guard Committee on Maritime Cooperation
- Implementation Program of the Memorandum of Understanding on Tourism Cooperation between the Department of Tourism of the Republic of the Philippines and the National Tourism Administration of the People’s Republic of China 2017-2022
- Protocol on Cooperation between the Philippines Drug Enforcement Agency and the Narcotics Control Bureau of the Ministry of Public Security of the People’s Republic of China; and
- Memorandum of Understanding on Financing Cooperation between the Export-Import Bank of China and the Government of the Republic of the Philippines, represented by the Department of Finance
Duterte described his meetings with the Chinese as having a “renewed and heightened sense of optimism in trade relations.” (davaotoday.com)
