New deal puts Beijing ahead of Tokyo in loans for first time
China is poised to overtake Japan as the Philippines' biggest provider of soft loans when Premier Wen Jiabao begins an official visit to Manila, after meeting heads of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations and other regional leaders in Cebu over the next two days.
China could also become a major market for Philippine agricultural produce, with a number of state-owned firms expected to seal agribusiness investment deals worth more than US$5 billion during Mr Wen's visit.
Philippine President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo and Mr Wen will witness the signing of another US$500 million in official development assistance this week, on top of the US$900 million that China has lent to the Philippines for railway modernisation.
The fresh loan is part of at least US$6 billion that the China Export-Import Bank has committed to lend Manila in the next three years.
Philippine Economic Planning Secretary Romulo Neri described the commitment as 'one of the biggest from China' to a foreign state, and one that would outpace Tokyo's lending to Manila for the first time.
Mr Neri expressed a degree of impatience with Japan's 'slow' approval process.