I
TII A II I AI,SBU I. T, E T
TEE NATTON'S IJADING NEWSPAPEN
China has proven to be a partner in drurloptnrnt
Speaker Gloria Macapagal Arroyo
cited the growing and improving eco-
nomic and trade ties between China
and Philippines and assured Chinese
business leaders that the Philippines
is exerling "maximum effort" to enswe
the smooth implementation of projects
that involve trade and investment
China has proven...
ondyearas member of the Board ofDi-
r€ctors ofthe BFA, encouraged Chinese
businessmen to continuously pour their
resources and invest in tle country
allaying concerns about the country's
restrictions on foreign investments.
"What impresses me so much is the
enthusiasm displayed by investors from
China. They all came wilh their busi-
ness plans and we in the Philippines
want to match the enthusiasm in the
implementation side," she said.
"IVe want you to Imow the Philip-
pine business climate and as that lunch
meeting clearly demonstrated. our busi
ness climate is very verywelcoming for
your business plans and I hope that will
be theconclusion in this Boao Forum in
Manila," she noted.
n€gulatory policies .
During Monday's special lunch,
Arroyo naffated that about 16 busi-
nessmen in high technologr expressed
their concern over regulatory policies
prompting her to call Information and
Tbchnolos/ Secretary Eliseo Rio Jr.
"There were three who had, spe-
cific questions and they presented
their business plans to our DICT Sec.
Rio intently and enthusiastically and
at the end of each question, we real-
\?Qo$r pAq;
III WEdNESdAY, APriI24,2O19
groups ftom China
Keynoting the frrst Boao Forum for
Asia (BFA) Manila Confeqence, Arroyo
stressed China should not be treated
as a competitoq but a ,partrer in de-
velopment "
"Clearly, the economic and trade
cooperation between our two countries
is as good as it has ever been, better
than it has ever been in fact," she told
at ;l*1*#-e country's No'
During the visit of Presi-Chinese
ized that all their business plans did
not have any restrictions on foreign
investments. And we hope that is the
way your business plans will also end
up. Welcome without restriction. We
in the Philippines want to match your
enthusiasm and this is what this Forum
is g l about," Arroyo said.
The former President reca ed that
when she began her career in public
serTice in the 80's, the term "fuagon
economy" was coined to describe the
economic miracle starting to take shape
in Asia.
"As an official in .mv counky's De-
part-rnent of ltade anfrttOuttiy, I was
wondering then if China would become
Southeast Asia's chief competitor in
the wdrld market. Little did we realize
then that China was in a class of its
own. Rather ihan a competito4 China
has proven to be a partner in develop-
ment- it is a market for SoutheastAsia
and its dev€loping countries, a donol
a provider of capital and technologr,"
Aroyo said.
Bilateral ties between the Philip-
pines and China, she said "have reached
new heights in recent years," which
is evident in the increase in China's
investmenl in the Philippines and in
" platform for dialogue alnong leaders
- Sp*krrAnoyo
the BFA plenary at Shangrila at The
Fort in Taguigcitla
.The
main thing to focus on now is
on the implementation side. The phitip-
pines has to exert maximum effort to
remove on-the-ground botfl enecks that
impede implementation of projects that
involve trade and investment groups
from China," she oointed out-
Arroyo. who ii on hur.""- )11
1
dent Xi Jinping to the Philippines in
November last year, he and President
Duterte agreed on a 'Comprehensive
Strategic Cooperation", a move that
sent J'a strong message that our two
countries are partners in seeking com,
mon development."
The Manila conference participated
in by around 300 Chinese and Fllipino
business leaders aims to help visiting
Chinese entrepreneurs to better un-
derstand the business envircnment and
related policies of Philippines.
The conference also seeks to intrdr
duce BFAto the Philippine govemiment
and bu3iness communilr and imple-
ment the important consensus reached
by top leaders of the two counhies and
strengthen the alignment of the Belt
and Road Initiative with the develop-
ment strategies of the Philippines and
ASEAN.
Co-sponsoring the conference were
the BFA and the Federation of Filipino-
Chinese Chambers of Commerce and
Industry Inc ((FFCCID, with the Phil-
ippine Chamber of Comm€rce and In-
dustry (PCCD, the Philippine Exporters
Confederation, Inc. (PHILEXPORT)
and the Chinese Embassy in the Philip-
pines as supporting partners..
The BFA, often referred to as the
Davos ofAsia, has become a high-end
, of national governments, industrial
and business circles. and academic
circles of countries in Asia and other
continents about the important issues
in dsia and the whole world.
The BFA is dedicated to Promoting
Asian countries achieve common devel-
opment through further iniegration of
regional economy.