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Philippines, China expected to sign up to 14 deals during Marcos visit

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Katrina Domingo and Warren de Guzman, ABS-CBN News

MANILA (UPDATE) - The Philippines and China are expected to sign 10 to 14 bilateral agreements during President Ferdinand Marcos Jr’s visit to Beijing, Malacanang said on Wednesday. Finance Secretary Benjamin Diokno said the agreements will boost the Philippines’ infrastructure push. “We will be signing more than a dozen of agreements and loans so that we expect our &#x27;Build Better More&#x27; to be accelerated,” Diokno said in an interview with the Office of the Press Secretary. Other areas of cooperation include trade and investment, agriculture, renewable energy, infrastructure, development cooperation, maritime security, and tourism.Among the projects expected to receive funding from China include farm-to-market roads as well as other “sustainable projects,” he said.&quot;This very short trip will promise to be a very successful one,&quot; Diokno said.Malacañang has yet to disclose how much in investment pledges the Philippines expected to yield from Marcos’ 3-day state visit to Beijing.Marcos’ state visit to China comes about 2 months after his first face-to-face meeting with Xi on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Summit in Bangkok last year.A large contingent of Filipino businessmen has travelled with Marcos to Beijing for the visit, including the leadership of the Federation of Filipino Chinese Chambers of Commerce and Industry Inc., and members of the Private Sector Advisory Council or PSAC led by businessman Sabin Aboitiz.Political Analyst Austin Ong said upgrading cooperation between the Philippines and China should be the priority of the trip. He noted the Philippines benefited from cooperation with China during the administration of former President Rodrigo Duterte, with the country receiving vaccine donations, and transport infrastructure including two donated bridges in Metro Manila. Ong said he hopes some of these discussions and agreements will help address key issues and problems in the Philippines right now such as high food prices, job security, health and education. “So that would be the guide poles for our leaders in the next 5 years,” Ong said. Meanwhile some small business owners are looking forward to more trade with China. For 56 year old Nelda Serrano, who sells China-made portable gensets, water pressure pumps and screw drivers, the Philippines and China should cooperate more. “Sa kanila din nanggagaling ang produkto natin. Halos lahat. Kagaya ng negosyo natin, sa kanila nanggagaling yan.”Salesman Alberto Negrite asaid that while there is a stigma attached to China-made products, customers still keep buying them. &quot;Yung mga produkto ng China, although sabihin natin medyo low quality, pero talagang mura.” Negrite is also aware the health of the Chinese economy is essential for good business not just here, but around the world. &quot;Naniniwala naman ako na ang pagpunta ng presidente natin doon, magpapasok siya ng mas maraming negosyo dito sa atin.”China is the Philippines largest trading partner, accounting for $2.22 billion or 20.2 percent of the total imports in October 2022, according to the Philippine Statistics Authority.China, including Hong Kong, is also a top export market. Hong Kong accounted for $1.28 billion or a share of 16.6 percent to the total exports in October while China accounted for $959.59 million or 12.5 percent of total exports.<ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/01/03/23/marcos-china-visit-to-tackle-security-issues">Marcos says China state visit aims to &#x27;shift trajectory of relations to a higher gear&#x27;</a></li></ul><figure class="op-interactive"><iframe allow="autoplay; fullscreen" frameBorder="0" height="100%" id="ivsplayer01" scrolling="no" src="https://player.ivideosmart.com/ivsplayer/v4/dist/html/iframe-src.html?iframeid=ivsplayer01&amp;key=e8c22c015ca9eafa76f1e3edfa03c603&amp;spid=3001339&amp;vid=2402962" width="100%"></iframe></figure><div class="iwantbar">Watch more News on <a href="https://www.iwanttfc.com/#!/browse/Genres/News/tag_id_genres/id_news" target="_blank">iWantTFC</a></div>

Palace officials said these agreements represent cooperation in areas including trade and investment, agriculture, renewable energy, infrastructure, development cooperation, maritime security, and tourism.

Philippines, China expected to sign up to 14 deals during Marcos visit

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Philippines, China expected to sign up to 14 deals during Marcos visit

Katrina Domingo and Warren de Guzman,

ABS-CBN News

Published Jan 04, 2023 03:18 PM PHT

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Updated Jan 21, 2023 03:31 AM PHT

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China

Marcos state visit

China deals

Xi Jinping

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