China open to technical talks with PH on gov’t-to-gov’t projects

Flags of the Philippines (left) and China (right). INQUIRER.net stock images

MANILA, Philippines — China is open for technical talks over government-to-government (G-to-G) projects, the Chinese Embassy in the Philippines said on Sunday.

“China will tap its own advantage and support the Philippines to improve its infrastructure. Our two sides have been negotiating technical issues and made positive progress to move the projects forward,” the embassy said in a statement.

“China is open for technical discussions over our G-to-G projects, and is ready to carry our cooperation forward, in close communication with the Philippine new administration,” it added.

In partnership with China, 17 projects in the country are completed and over 20 projects are in progress, the embassy said.

However, the implementation of some projects faced setbacks — such as hindering the site availability, causing delays of procurement, affecting goods mobility — since the COVID-19 pandemic hit.

“Despite those difficulties and challenges, our two sides have worked tirelessly to push the projects forward and yielded rich outcomes, spanning from anti-pandemic response, disaster relief to infrastructure, agriculture, and other fields,” the embassy said.

According to the embassy, China’s policy towards the Philippines has always been “consistent and stable.”

The embassy likewise believed that continuity will be pursued between the two nations’ relations.

The Philippines, under the administration of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., has scrapped China loans for three multi-billion-peso rail projects.

Marcos is eyeing a renegotiation of the loans with China in the hope of securing the official development assistance loans since the government cannot fund the projects.

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