BAGO City Mayor Nicholas Yulo on Monday said the local government is looking at possible export and investment ventures with China particularly its southern tip city Nanning.
Yulo said their participation in the two-day Asean-China Mayors' Forum on September 6 to 7 at the said capital city of Guangxi province is a big boost for Bago City.
Only four cities in Negros Occidental were invited to attend the forum, forming part of 30 cities from the Philippines. The other three were Victorias, Cadiz and Bacolod.
For Negros Occidental, however, only the cities of Bago and Victorias represented by Yulo and Mayor Francis Frederick Palanca have attended.
"It has positively contributed to our bid on improving Bago's regional or international image," he said, adding that "the sisterhood they are encouraging will surely enable us to take advantage of the export and investment potentials of China."
The forum aims to foster good relationship among cities in Asean member-nations and Nanning, which is positioning itself as the Asean gateway into China.
Yulo said Nanning City encourages Asean countries to export their products, especially food, into the interior portion of China, passing through it.
They are also looking into investments in the Asean region especially with the Philippines, he added.
Former president and now House Speaker Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo was the guest speaker during the opening rites.
The activity was highlighted by the signing of a Memorandum of Cooperation between the League of Cities and Mayors' Association of China.
This will pave way for the matching of cities in order to have sisterhood so they could help in providing the needs of cities like Bago, Yulo said.
In terms of food products, he said, the local government can actually find markets in China.
Though the city still has to further increase its food production first to cater to export markets aside from just meeting its consumption requirement.
"We are looking at bigger potentials on exporting our handicrafts," the mayor said, citing Tumandok Crafts Industries as a local producer capable of expanding markets to China aside from those in Europe.
Yulo, moreover, said participating cities in the Philippines were asked to prepare their respective "profile" in preparation for the visit of 200 delegates from China.
"We are preparing for this as we might be one of their destinations during their visit in the country sometime in November," he added.