‘China wants more Phl exports’

Exports to China, which has been growing 10 percent the past three years, is expected to rise further as China expresses interest to buy more goods from the Philippines in a bid to ease the trade imbalance between the two countries.

Approved investments from China amounted to P50.7 billion in 2018 alone, or 2,073 percent higher from just P2.3 billion in 2017.

In a statement by the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) on the Philippine-China bilateral meeting being held in Beijing, trade secretary Ramon Lopez said Chinese leader Xi Jinping “reiterated China’s policy to help balance trade with the Philippines by buying more goods, especially agriculture and agri-based products and industrial goods.”

“This was reinforced during my side meeting with Chinese Commerce and Finance Minister Zhong Shan when he mentioned that China wants to import more goods from the Philippines,” he said.

According to data from the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA), exports to China grew to $824.85 million in June this year, or over 50 percent higher from $536 million in the same month in 2017.

While exports have been going up, the country’s imports from China were still the highest in the June this year at $1.93 billion, albeit registering a drop from $2.01 billion in June, 2018.

Meanwhile, the DTI also said it encouraged Chinese companies to pour foreign direct investments to the Philippines “to help increase jobs and production capacities that will enable the Philippines to enhance its exports capabilities.”

Approved investments from China amounted to P50.7 billion in 2018 alone, or 2,073 percent higher from just P2.3 billion in 2017.

“More big-ticket projects are on the way especially in manufacturing both in heavy industries like petrochemical, iron and steel, as well as light industries like textile, construction, technology-based services, agribusiness, energy, power, transportation, infrastructure, and tourism,” Lopez said.

He added that Chinese leaders also expressed optimism in increasing the number of Chinese tourists to the Philippines as well as other Asian countries. Chinese tourists are seen to rise to 1.5 million this year from just 1.2 million in 2018 and 500,000 in 2015.