PH, China reviving trade body

Philippine and Chinese economic ministers will meet this month to reconvene the two countries’ Joint Commission on Economic and Trade Cooperation (JCETC) after six years since its last meeting in 2011.

In a statement, the Department of Finance said that during last week’s meeting between President Duterte’s economic managers and their Chinese counterparts, they had agreed to again hold the JCETC in the Philippines “to ensure close coordination and further promote bilateral cooperation between the two countries.”

In a meeting between Dominguez and China’s Commerce Minister Gao Hucheng on Jan. 23, the Chinese official reportedly said their government “would like to continue to enhance the mutual trust and the mutual understanding with our Filipino colleagues in order to further expand and deepen our practical cooperation.”

“Gao also said China sought a ‘healthy and stable development’ of the bilateral relations between the two countries that will benefit both countries and their people,” the DOF said.

“China ‘attaches great importance’ to the list of priority projects submitted by the Philippine delegation,” the DOF further quoted Gao as saying.

In all, the economic managers presented to officials in China a total of 40 “small and large” infrastructure projects for possible financing during the two-day mission.

For his part, Dominguez said the speedy pace of cooperation between Manila and Beijing “reaffirms our strong commitment to pursue long-term, comprehensive, stable and cooperative relationship with China grounded on mutual respect, sincerity, equality and mutual benefit for the advancement of peace, security and prosperity of our two countries.”

Preparations for the JCETC meeting kicked off in November last year when the Department of Trade and Industry hosted a 14-member delegation from Beijing led by Wu Zhengping, director of general for Asia in China’s Ministry of Commerce.

The Philippine side included officials from the DTI’s Board of Investments and its Bureau of International Trade Relations.

“The joint commission last convened in 2011 and the 28th meeting of the JCETC will serve as a quick follow through from the economic agreements signed in Beijing,” Trade Undersecretary Ceferino S. Rodolfo said last November, referring to the deals secured by President Duterte during his visit to China in October last year.

Rodolfo had said that the JCETC meeting will tackle specific economic cooperation initiatives in fields such as trade and investment promotion, manufacturing, infrastructure, tourism, energy, development of micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs), agriculture, as well as the crafting of a development program for economic cooperation.

“The JCETC allows both sides to pursue concrete implementation projects toward greater ties in trade, investment and economic cooperation from broad strokes arrived at under the agreements signed,” according to Rodolfo,

Last October, Trade Secretary Ramon M. Lopez said the $24-billion investment and credit line pledges that Manila secured from Beijing during President Duterte’s visit were a display of “greater confidence” in the future economic relationship of the two countries.

The package included $15 billion worth of investment agreements that are expected to generate two million jobs over the next five years as well as $9 billion worth of financing facilities.