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Exclusive | Xi’s Philippines visit: in New Clark City, Chinese cash can fill a hole left by the US
- China and the Philippines are expected to seal a multibillion-dollar deal to develop a 500-hectare smart city when Xi visits in November
- New Clark City, built in an area once dominated by a US military base, is latest example of the Philippine leader’s shifting diplomatic priorities
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When President Xi Jinping visits the Philippines in November, China is expected to seal a multibillion-dollar deal with the Southeast Asian country to develop a 500-hectare industrial estate in Clark, which was the home of an American military base for almost nine decades.
This investment in New Clark City was billed to be China’s largest in a single project in the Philippines, and another example of how President Rodrigo Duterte has, since coming to power two years ago, moved the country away from long-time ally the United States to forge new alliances.
Vivencio Dizon, president of the Bases Conversion and Development Authority responsible for Clark’s development, said the agreement underscored the improving ties between the two countries.
“China is so important for the growth story of the Philippines – not just in terms of investment or trade but also in terms of tourist arrivals,” Dizon said in Manila on Tuesday.
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In the first seven months of this year, 937,000 South Koreans visited the Philippines, followed by 764,000 Chinese. Last year, 968,447 Chinese tourists travelled to the Philippines, a 43.3 per cent increase from 2016.
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Bilateral ties had been “getting better and better” under Duterte, despite tensions during the reign of former president Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino III, said the head of the body tasked with transforming former military bases and properties into sources of economic growth.
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