The Philippine pivot: Duterte readies huge business delegation for Beijing visit

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‘The clouds are fading away’: President Rodrigo Duterte shakes hands with Chinese Ambassador to the Philippines Zhao Jianhua. Photo: EPA

Published: 2:04pm, 12 Oct 2016Updated: 3:35pm, 12 Oct 2016

About 250 Philippine business executives will visit Beijing with President Rodrigo Duterte next week as he puts aside years of hostility to seek a new partnership with China at a time when tensions between Manila and its traditional ally, the United States, are mounting.

There has been no announcement about the delegation, but business groups and government officials said registration to join Duterte on his October 18-21 visit had been oversubscribed. Filipino executives are eager to talk with Chinese business leaders and government officials about deals in a range of sectors, from rail, and construction to tourism, agribusiness, power and manufacturing, the sources said.

Initially only about two dozen Philippine entrepreneurs were to accompany Duterte but the number had ballooned to about 250, Trade Undersecretary Nora Terrado said. “I understand there are 100 more wanting to go,” Terrado said, adding the size of the delegation was unusual because the two sides agreed on the visit only about one month ago.

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte has taken aim at a potential new foe: the United States. File photo: AP

We do have a very popular president and the president decided that he wanted to have a better relationship with China

Francis Chua, chairman emeritus of Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry

The trip could signal a transformation in a relationship dogged in recent years by mistrust over rival territorial claims in the South China Sea, and could upset strategic alliances in a region growing wary of China’s influence and military might and where the United States has a strong presence.

An arbitration court ruling in the Hague on July 12 that said China had breached the Philippines’ sovereign rights in the South China Sea had threatened to lead to a further deterioration in ties between Manila and Beijing.