China negotiating infrastructure project technical issues with the Philippines —embassy

The Chinese Embassy in Manila said on Sunday that it has been negotiating infrastructure project "technical issues" with the Philippines, stressing that it has made "positive progress to move the projects forward."

"As to infrastructure, China has comprehensive strength and is well-known for its quality and speed. China will tap its own advantage and support the Philippines to improve its infrastructure," 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.

Transportation Undersecretary for Railways Cesar Chavez earlier said the Chinese government did not act on the Duterte administration’s request for loan financing for three major railway projects, therefore these were considered withdrawn and have to be renegotiated by the current government.

The three railway projects were the Subic-Clark Railway Project, the Philippine National Railways (PNR) South Long-Haul Project, and the Davao-Digos segment of the Mindanao Railway Project (MRP).

Chavez said the Duterte administration’s National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) Board approved the three railway projects to be funded by official development assistance (ODA) loans from China.

However, negotiations, which began as early as 2018, did not prosper as China failed to act on the Philippine government’s requests for funding.

On Saturday, Chavez said that President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. ordered them to renegotiate the loan agreements for the three railway projects even as commented that, as a matter of policy, the government should encourage more investments in rail.

Further cooperation

Meanwhile, the Embassy said that China and the Philippines have "deepened the synergy" between the Belt and Road Initiative and the latter's national development program.

It said that the government-to-government cooperation between China and the Philippines has seen "fruitful results and delivered tangible benefits with efforts from both sides."

According to the Embassy, 17 projects have been completed and more than 20 projects are under implementation or in progress.

"Over the past two years, COVID-19 has impacted implementation of some projects, hindering the site availability, causing delays of procurement, affecting goods mobility, and so on," it explained.

"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."

New era of friendship

Moreover, the Embassy said that the phone conversation between China President Xi Jinping and Marcos as well as recent high-level visits have "ushered in a new era of China-Philippine friendship."

It stressed that the two governments were dedicated to further enhancing friendship and mutual trust, adhering to good neighborliness, and deepening mutually beneficial cooperation.

"China’s policy towards the Philippines has always been and will continue to be consistent and stable as ever. It is also believed that continuity would be secured in our relations as well as the bilateral practical cooperation," the Embassy pointed out.

"Looking forward, China will build on the past fruition and further our cooperation in agriculture, infrastructure, energy, people-to-people exchange, and other fields." — DVM, GMA News