Enhanced ties with China to help in PH economic recovery: analyst

FILE: President Marcos, Xi meet for the first time, to forge deeper Philipines-China ties (Photo: Office of the Press Secretary/Facebook)

MANILA – Strengthening the Philippines-China relation is a move in the right direction for the Marcos administration in order to sustain the recovery momentum of the Philippine economy, a political analyst said on Friday.

During a Laging Handa briefing, Froilan Calilung, political science professor at the University of Santo Tomas, said the bilateral meeting between President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. and Chinese President Xi Jinping during the sidelines of the 29th Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Leaders Meeting in Bangkok, Thailand would have a significant impact on the country’s economic recovery, particularly in creating jobs, broadening the tax base and combating poverty.

“I think maganda na ang Presidente natin, ang ating Pangulo ay nagkaroon ng malapitan na pakikipag-usap sa pangulo ng bansang Tsina dahil nga ito ay napakalaki ng maaaring maidulot sa ating — sa pagtataguyod ng ating ekonomiya (I think it is good that the President had a one-on-one discussion with the President of China because it would have a huge impact in rebuilding our economy)… and I think it is really, really a matter of how we are going to navigate, you know, our friendship with countries in order to pursue our national interest,” Calilung said.

Calilung said the meeting is consistent with Marcos’ foreign policy of being a “friend to all [and] enemy of none.”

“I think what the President is saying here is that we need to maintain good standing, friendships anchored on amity and on cooperation between and amongst countries, especially iyong mga masasabi nating mga makapangyarihang bansa (what we consider as powerful countries),” he said.

He noted that China is now an economic super power, stressing that the Philippines will be needing a lot of support from the former to maintain the fluidity of its economic efforts.

“Remember that our foreign policy is an extension of our domestic policy. So kung ano ‘yung gusto natin na makuha or makamit domestically, ito ay inilalakad natin on the international level (So whatever we want to achieve domestically, we also pursue it on the international level),” he said.

“And I think this cooperation that we’re having right now with China, and not only with China, but even with the US, with Asean, with APEC and other regional blocks in the world, I think it sends a strong message that the President really is not there to antagonize any country for as long as they are willing to support and adhere to our principles as well as a country,” he added.

Marcos has expressed his excitement over his upcoming state visit to China in his first meeting with President Xi Jimping, which he described as “a pleasant exchange.”

“It’s the first time that I’ve met President Xi Jinping and I was very happy that we were able to have this opportunity here in the APEC Meeting in Bangkok to have a bilateral meeting,” Marcos said after the meeting. He described their bilateral meeting as “a kind of getting-to-know-you” between him and the Chinese leader.

Marcos and Xi also discussed strengthening and expanding the Philippines-China relation, particularly in the areas of agriculture, energy, infrastructure and people-to-people connections.

He said other details about Philippine-China discussions will be brought up during his state visit to Beijing on the first week of January 2023.

They both agreed to hold more bilateral talks to have a more comprehensive discussion of regional and global issues.

According to Malacañang, Xi congratulated Marcos for winning the May 9 presidential polls.

Marcos likewise said Xi was “surprised” to meet his old friend, former president now Pampanga 2nd district Rep. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, who accompanied him during the meeting.

“…They had a few minutes of recollecting the meetings that they have had, which I think helped the tone of the meeting. So I am looking forward to January and the state visit to China,” he said.

House Speaker Martin Romualdez earlier said Arroyo gave Marcos “advice” on his meeting with Xi. However, he said he was not privy to what these were. He said Marcos’ meeting with the Chinese leader was significant given that the global power is a large trading partner and a major source of investment.