MANILA: Chinese Ambassador to the Philippines Zhao Jianhua vowed to balance trade and investments with the Philippines.
During the Philippine-China Investment Forum in Makati City, Zhao said despite the long diplomatic relations of the two countries, bilateral trade and investments remained moderate.
The balance of trade favors China since the Philippines import more products from China as well as invests more in China.
The Chinese envoy reiterated that President Rodrigo Duterte’s state visit last year has opened great opportunities for Manila and Beijing.
“We enter into new era of comprehensive development of our bilateral relations,” Zhao said.
“The essence of our bilateral relationship must lie into serving the mutual interest of our people,” he added.
In a span of seven months, China’s import of tropical fruits from the Philippines increased by $100 million, according to Zhao. The two-way trade between China and the Philippines reached $47.2 billion last year, increasing by 3.3 percent from the figure in 2015.
