Chinese Ambassador Huang Xilian said China maintains its confidence in the Philippines even as Asian economies face headwinds from the war in Ukraine, rising petroleum prices, rate hikes, supply chain disruptions, and other global factors.
Speaking at the 48th Philippine Business Conference and Expo 2022 organized by the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Xillian extolled the Marcos administration for initiating economic reforms critical to the nation’s quick recovery from the Covid-19 onslaught.
“Under the leadership of President Marcos Jr., the Philippines is attracting foreign investment, improving fiscal management, and making every effort to develop the economy. The first 100 days of the new administration have seen the Philippine business environment continuously improving,” Huang said as he commended the administration for a job well done during Marcos’ “honeymoon period.”
The Chinese envoy described Marcos’ first 100 days as a “satisfactory finish.”
“The debt level is stabilizing, and the unemployment level is dropping to the lowest level since the outbreak of this pandemic. Companies from China and the rest of the world have full confidence in the economic prospect of this country, as the Philippines has promising markets, demographic dividends, and abundant natural resources,” he added.
Huang said that under the strategic guidance of Chinese President Xi Jinping and Marcos Jr., the two countries saw “deepening economic cooperation,” stressing that China has been the Philippines’ largest trading partner for the last six years and a significant source of foreign investments.
“The economic and trade cooperation of the two countries has been deepened despite the pandemic. Bilateral trade between the two countries reached $82 billion, and the Chinese mainland, Hongkong, Macau, and Taiwan joined in, accounting for almost 33 percent of Philippine exports. For the last seven months of 2022, bilateral trade increased by 12.7 percent, higher than the average increase of China’s foreign trade and that between and ASEAN,” he said.