2016年CRI Philippine Leader meets leading Chinese enterprises

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More than 900 representatives from the Chinese and Philippine political and business sectors² have gathered in the Chinese capital for the Philippines-China Trade and Investment Forum³.

They've been focused on how deepen economic and investment cooperation.

Mary Go Ng is vice⁴ president of Federation⁵ of Filipino Chinese Chambers⁶ of Commerce and Industry.

She says the main focus for Chinese companies looking at the Philippines should be infrastructure⁷ and high technology.

"First thing I think the Philippines needs now is the infrastructure. So I think China, they can help us in technology, high technology that could help the Philippines improve a lot."

The sessions in Beijing come amid a revival⁸ of political ties between the two sides brought on by President Rodrigo Duterte.

Duterte and Chinese President Xi Jinping have already signed a series of cooperation agreements which cover various areas such as economy, trade, investment, infrastructure and inter-personal exchanges.

Representatives from the Philippine business sector¹ are suggesting these agreements are a major step toward a much closer partnership⁹.

"The agreements signed by both President Xi and President Duterte are a step in the right direction for greater economic cooperation between the Philippines and China. We welcome that. The Filipino business sector welcomes that. That's why we came to China to meet our counterparts, our friends."

"This is a very good development because we welcome China to invest in our country. And of course, it will also promote trade between [the two] nations. Philippines has a lot of products that can be exported to China."

"Personally I'm in the IT industry, and IT industry helps close gaps between two nations. So we are looking for ways that we can partner with, especially Internet and IT and high technology Chinese companies. And through this it allows us to communicate better. I think communication and open lines of communication between the Chinese and Philippines is critical."

China is currently the Philippines' second largest trading partner.

Bilateral¹⁰ trade between the two countries reached 45 billion U.S. dollars last year.

That's expected to increase substantially next year, now that Chinese authorities have eliminated a number of restrictions¹¹ on fruit imports from the Philippines, and have also lifted a travel advisory¹² for Chinese tourists.