WITH warmer relations between China and the Philippines, Chinese companies intend to build industrial zones in the Philippines, a Chinese government official said.
During the 43rd Philippine Business Conference and Expo in Manila yesterday, Embassy of the People’s Republic of China in the Philippines commercial counselor Jin Yuan shared the economic benefits that the Philippines is getting from one the of the world’s biggest economies.
“The Ministry of Commerce is discussing with the Department of Trade and Industry (where) China is going to set up an industrial park, industrial zones in the Philippines,” he said, speaking to a crowd of Filipino business owners.
These parks, he said, will house several hundreds of Chinese companies that will generate more revenues for the Philippine government and create jobs for more Filipinos.
Yuan shared that since China and the Philippines became more intimate since the start of the Duterte administration, many Chinese companies and potential investors are inquiring at the embassy on how to do business in the country.
“They want to look for capable partners in the Philippines,” the embassy official said.
Aside from investments and jobs, China also boasts of its billion-size market, which the Philippines can take advantage of.
“With our huge market (of 1.4 billion people), we can import as many bananas, or Cebu dried mangoes, or bamboos, as many as possible,” he noted.
In 2016, China was the second top trading partner of the Philippines with total trade amounting to $17.6 billion, after Japan’s $18.67 billion.
Yuan also discussed infrastructure support of the Chinese government, which will usher the Philippines’ golden age of infrastructure.