Philippines turns to China for $15-billion investment deals
Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte is sending a delegation to Beijing this week for meetings with Chinese top officials to discuss investment deals worth $15 billion. The January 23-24 trip includes Duterte’s finance, budget, economic, public works and transport secretaries, according to a statement from the Philippine Department of Finance on January 22.
The delegation will also discuss the Philippine’s chairmanship of the Association of South East Asian Nations, or ASEAN, this year, the statement added.
The deals and investments were committed to the Philippines during President Rodrigo Duterte’s visit to Beijing in October last year. This week’s visit, however, occurs at a time when another of the Philippines’ major trade and investment partner, the US, signals to follow more protectionist policies in foreign trade in the future and the inauguration of Donald Trump as new US president which has raised fears over a possible trade war between the US and Asia.
The mission to tap investments and business from China also follows Duterte’s “pro-Filipino” policy aimed at reducing the reliance on a US that he says he has “lost faith in.”
Chinese investments could flow mainly into energy and infrastructure projects where there is dire need for development in the Philippines. Duterte has said he wants to spend no less $160 billion on infrastructure in his six-year term through June 2022, mostly funded by foreign partnerhsips, development contributions and aid money.
Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte is sending a delegation to Beijing this week for meetings with Chinese top officials to discuss investment deals worth $15 billion. The January 23-24 trip includes Duterte's finance, budget, economic, public works and transport secretaries, according to a statement from the Philippine Department of Finance on January 22. The delegation will also discuss the Philippine's chairmanship of the Association of South East Asian Nations, or ASEAN, this year, the statement added. The deals and investments were committed to the Philippines during President Rodrigo Duterte’s visit to Beijing in October last year. This week's visit, however, occurs...
Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte is sending a delegation to Beijing this week for meetings with Chinese top officials to discuss investment deals worth $15 billion. The January 23-24 trip includes Duterte’s finance, budget, economic, public works and transport secretaries, according to a statement from the Philippine Department of Finance on January 22.
The delegation will also discuss the Philippine’s chairmanship of the Association of South East Asian Nations, or ASEAN, this year, the statement added.
The deals and investments were committed to the Philippines during President Rodrigo Duterte’s visit to Beijing in October last year. This week’s visit, however, occurs at a time when another of the Philippines’ major trade and investment partner, the US, signals to follow more protectionist policies in foreign trade in the future and the inauguration of Donald Trump as new US president which has raised fears over a possible trade war between the US and Asia.
The mission to tap investments and business from China also follows Duterte’s “pro-Filipino” policy aimed at reducing the reliance on a US that he says he has “lost faith in.”
Chinese investments could flow mainly into energy and infrastructure projects where there is dire need for development in the Philippines. Duterte has said he wants to spend no less $160 billion on infrastructure in his six-year term through June 2022, mostly funded by foreign partnerhsips, development contributions and aid money.
