Chinese vice-premier heads to Philippines, with US$6b gift basket
Wang Yang’s visit comes amid warming ties between the two South China Sea claimants
Chinese Vice-Premier Wang Yang kicked off a visit to the Philippines on Thursday, with a package of deals and loans worth more than US$6 billion in tow.
Wang is expected to oversee the signing of multiple agreements during his four-day visit, including a US$1 billion deal for agriculture exports, and financing for 15 infrastructure projects including two railways, a hydroelectric dam and an irrigation system.
China will also establish a six-year programme to develop economic ties, and make a US$1 million donation to quake-hit Southern Mindanao.
Relations between Beijing and Manila have improved in recent months after years of decline over the two nation’s competing claims in the South China Sea. Manila took the issue to an international arbitration panel in The Hague, which handed down a ruling last July that sided with the Philippines.
But Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte has tried to develop a better working relationship with Beijing and made a state visit to China in October. Official exchanges from the two nations have since stepped up, with Chinese Commerce Minister Zhong Shan visiting the Philippines for three days from March 6 to resume the suspended Philippines-China Joint Commission on Economic and Trade Cooperation.
