China has pledged to finance a proposed industrial park at the New Clark City in Angeles, Pampanga seen to further reinforce cooperation between Manila and Beijing.

Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez III said the commitment was made during a high-level meeting in Beijing last week. A formal agreement is expected to be signed, he said.

Dominguez, who led the Philippine delegation, expressed his deep gratitude for the financial assistance extended by China in the forms of an fficial development assistance (ODA) loan. He said he is in constant touch with his Chinese counterpart for several months now to facilitate the speedy delivery and processing of the country’s flagship infrastructure developments.

Chinese Commerce Minister Zhong Shan said China is willing to step up the information exchange with the Philippines on the infrastructure programs and meet with local officials more frequently to ensure their timely delivery.

He commended the country’s decision to invest its tax reform revenues into an infrastructure modernization program. He said modernization was a key factor in the rapid expansion of China’s economy.

In addition, Zhong assured the Philippine delegation for a more generous space in the China International Import Expo for the country’s exhibitors. This signifies China’s commitment to “make new progress” in its bilateral relations with the Philippines.

He commended the country’s decision to invest its tax reform revenues into an infrastructure modernization program.

Dominguez also underscored the following during the meeting with Minister Zhong:

• A possible parallel financing arrangement between China and the World Bank for the rehabilitation of the Agus-Pulangi Hydroelectric Power Plants of the National Power Corporation (Napocor), which Dominguez said is “a very important project” that the Philippines wants to fast-track. Zhong said the Ministry of Commerce is “supportive” of this proposal;

• The Philippines’ appreciation of the timely execution and quick approval of the first loan agreement for the Chico River Pump Irrigation Project as well as China’s swift response in assisting in the rehabilitation of the damaged city of Marawi, the quick ongoing construction of the drug rehabilitation facilities in Sarangani and Agusan del Sur in Mindanao, and the two 500-million renminbi grants for several projects;

• The Philippine government’s implementation of the first package of the tax reform program, which helped to substantially increase tax collection in the first seven months of 2018 by 18 percent. About 70 percent of the incremental revenues from this package will help implement the “Build, Build, Build” program that China is supporting with loans and grants;

• China’s rising investments in the Philippines, with net foreign direct investments (FDI) for the period January-May 2018 registering a 534-percent increase over the net FDI for the whole 2017. Total approved investments from China, meanwhile, grew by 57.14 percent over the previous year;

• Increasing bilateral trade with China since 2017, with total trade between the two countries reaching $13.9 B in the first half of 2018. “China is now actually the largest trading partner of the Philippines. We expect this growth trend to be sustained,” Dominguez said and

• Growth in the number of Chinese tourists, which hit almost one million in 2017. The Philippines’ target for 2018 is to bring in 1.5 million tourists from China.