The Relationship Between China and Philippines

China is fast becoming one of the Philippines’ largest trading partners.

the Philippines has been rapidly improving its relations and cooperation with China on various issues,
developing a stronger and stable ties with the country, as well as a successful Code of conduct with
China and the rest of ASEAN.

Tourism

An estimated 680,000 Chinese visitors to the Philippines in 2016.

An estimated 1.2 million Filipino visitors to China in 2016.

Tourism from China to Philippines will increase and is a good source of revenue for the Philippines. The
figures for 2017 are expected to increase rapidly, and the casino industry is expected to be one of the
major beneficiaries.

Transactions and Economic trades

China was the Philippines’ second largest trading partner in 2015 with total trade worth US$ 17.646
billion or 13.6% of the total Philippines-China trade. Exports from China totaled US$ 6.175 billion, while
payment for imports was valued at US$ 11.471 billion; this resulted in a US$ 5.296 billion trade deficit
with China. From an export viewpoint, the biggest sales to China were Electronic Products valued at US$
3.388 billion or 54.9% of the country’s exports to China. Other Mineral Products followed with a total
value of US$ 683.41 million or 11.1%. Imported goods purchased from China were made up of
Electronic Products valued at US$ 2.418 billion or 21.1% of the country’s total imports, with Iron and
Steel following at US$ 1.823 billion or 15.9%.

The Philippine mining firm Global Ferronickel signed a US$ 500-US$ 700 million deal with Baiyin
International Investment Ltd to construct a steel plant, while Green energy Development Corp. signed a
MOU with Power China Guizhou Engineering Corp to develop a 300Mw hydropower plant project valued
at approximately US$ 1 billion

Practical cooperation across the board between China and the Philippines have made remarkable
progress. Under the leadership of President Xi and President Duterte, the synergies between the Belt
and Road initiative and the Build, Build, Build program have been deepened. So far, 12 government-to-
government cooperation projects have been completed, 7 projects are under implementation and more
than 10 projects going forward smoothly. The economic and trade cooperation between the two
countries has been rising against the adverse impact of COVID-19 pandemic. In 2020
Two of the agreements are part of President Duterte’s flagship infrastructure program called “Build,
Build, Build” while the other four cover trade, customs, and communications.

the Philippine government and people from all walks of life provided valued support and assistance to
China. In light of the pandemic situation in the Philippines, China has also extended every help and
support to the Philippines to the best of its ability. We have promptly provided well-needed medical
supplies to the Philippines, and shared our hard-earned experience and dispatched an anti-pandemic
medical expert team to the Philippines

China was the first country to donate test kits, the first and the only country to dispatch anti-pandemic
medical expert team to the Philippines, and also the first country to issue special permit for the
Philippine military air crafts and vessels to land and dock in China for the transportation of medical
supplies. China's Sinovac was the first Covid vaccine to arrive in the Philippines both through
government-to-government donation and commercial procurement, and it now tops the list of most
welcomed and trusted Covid vaccines among Filipinos.

The two countries have established mechanisms such as Bilateral Consultation Mechanism (BCM) to
exchange views, enhance mutual trust and explore practical cooperation

With China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) and the Philippines’ Build, Build, Build program, the two
countries have an aligned infrastructure development agenda, which could lead to greater opportunities
for cooperation and collaboration.