China loans $7.19 bln to Philippines' infra projects

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The Philippine Department of Finance announced Wednesday that China has agreed to loan 7.19 billion US dollars to the Philippines on 10 major infrastructure projects, which will cover 85 percent of the total cost.

The southeast Asian nation also received its first loan from the China-led Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) this September. The AIIB board approved a loan limit of 207.63 million US dollars to be spent on the country’s flood protection programs.

Bilateral ties between China and the Philippines experienced an apparent warm-up since South China Sea disputes after President Rodrigo Duterte took office last June, a change that has been beneficial for the Philippines’ infrastructure development over the past year.

The Philippines tropical fruit booth at an international vegetable & fruit exhibition in Beijing on November 4. /VCG Photo

Trade is also on the mend. The first nine months saw a 7.8-percent year-on-year surge in bilateral trade. Philippines' exports of farm goods to China, including tropical fruits such as pineapples, bananas and papayas, have all increased significantly.

China last year overtook Japan to become Philippines' number one trading partner. Trade volumes between the two totaled 21.9 billion US dollars in 2016, accounting for 15.5 percent in Philippines' overall foreign trade.

Meanwhile, China also became the island country’s third largest source of tourists. Visits from China to the Philippines in the first three quarters totaled 641 thousand, and is projected to surpass one million for 2017.

President Duterte rolled out an initiative called Ambition Nation 2040, pledging to bolster infrastructure investment and economic reform , which many experts say is in line with China’s Belt and Road Initiative. Similar targets can generate greater possibilities for further cooperation between the two countries.