Hon. Alberto Domingo Jr., President of the New Era University,
Hon. Ambassador Benito Techico, Special Envoy of the President of the Philippines for Trade, Investment, and Tourism,
Hon. Chairman Raul Lambino, Chairman of APCU,
Hon. Sixto Benedicto, President of APCU,
Distinguished guests,
Ladies and gentlemen,
Good morning!
It is my honor to join you at the 11th Manila Forum for China-Philippines Relations which will focus on the economic situation in China and the Chinese economic and trade cooperation with the Philippines. I thank the New Era University and the Association for Philippines-China Understanding (APCU) for your tremendous support and careful preparation for this event.
As you all know, back in China, we just concluded the annual plenary sessions of the National People’s Congress (NPC) and of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) last week. The “Two Sessions” have been followed closely by the international community, including the Philippines. From the “Two Sessions” one may feel the resilience and vitality of China’s economic and social development, may get an idea of China’s confidence in facing challenges and forging ahead, and will witness China’s action of sharing development opportunities and commitment to working together with the rest of the world. The center of all this attention is China’s economy. I would like to share with you three key features or key words on China’s current economic situation:
The first is the “5% growth target”. The Chinese government proposes an expected growth target of around 5% for China’s economy in 2024. This increase is equivalent to twice the size of the Philippines’ GDP. The figure is not only higher than the previous IMF and World Bank forecast for China, but also far exceeds the IMF’s growth forecast for the US and the EU. Some International media suggest that in a world of uncertainty, China’s ambitious target of 5% growth rate demonstrates its strong economic resilience, potential, and vitality. In support of such a projection, the Chinese economy has been showing a growing number of positive factors since beginning of this year. During the Chinese New Year holiday last month, there were 2.29 billion cross-region trips, with domestic tourists spending more than 632.6 billion RMB yuan, an increase of 7.7 percent on a comparable basis than the same period in 2019. In the first two months this year, China’s total trade in goods hit 6.61 trillion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 8.7 percent. As China’s economy grows with a sound momentum, stability and confidence will be injected into the development of the world economy.
The second is “new quality productive forces”. China’s development is not only characterized by growth in quantity but also by improvement in quality. Emerging industries are flourishing, green transformation has yielded remarkable results, new demands and new forms of business have occurred, and new quality productive forces are being formed quickly. The important notion of new quality productive forces guides the Chinese economy to break new ground. When attending the deliberation during the Two Sessions, President Xi Jinping stressed that we should stay committed to the priority of high-quality development, and develop new quality productive forces based on local conditions. For the first time, it is put forward in this year’s Government Work Report that we should strive to modernize the industrial system and develop new quality productive forces at a faster pace. Last year, exports of the “new trio,” namely, electric vehicles, lithium-ion batteries, and photovoltaic products exceeded one trillion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 30 percent. Last year also witnessed accelerated development of digital economy, with half of our population using 5G. The application of international patents by Chinese applicants through the Patent Cooperation Treaty topped the world for four consecutive years. The new quality productive forces have taken shape and strongly boosted and supported high-quality development.
The third is “high-level opening to the outside world”. New ways to expand higher-standard opening-up showcase China’s resolve to share opportunities with the world. Against the backdrop of a global downturn in cross-border investment and increasingly fierce international competition in attracting capital, foreign investment flowing into China in 2023 remained in the realm of trillions of RMB, the third highest level in history. The total tariff level in China has lowered to 7.3%, which is equivalent to that of developed members of the World Trade Organization. The negative list of access of foreign investment to China has been reduced to below 31 items, with full openness in the manufacturing industry, and the opening up of the service industry accelerated. The Chinese return on foreign investment still ranks among the top in the world. Going forward, China will actively align with high standard international economic and trade rules, steadily expand institutional opening up, promote steady improvement in both quantity and quality of foreign trade, and redouble efforts to attract foreign investment. In last January alone, 4,588 new foreign-invested businesses were established in China, which marks an increase of 74.4 percent year on year. According to the latest survey by the German Chamber of Commerce in China, 91 percent of German businesses will continue to invest in China. According to a report by the American Chamber of Commerce in South China, 76 percent of the companies interviewed plan to invest again in China in 2024. More and more multinational businesses are recognizing that investing in China is investing in a future of win-win results. What China pursues is not an exclusive modernization, but an inclusive globalization that allows different countries, different classes, and different groups of people to participate in and enjoy the fruits of economic and social development. We expect such a globalization will unleash the vitality and power of global economic growth, and help to achieve common prosperity.
Ladies and gentlemen!
China and the Philippines are both developing countries and emerging economies in Asia. Despite different national conditions and systems, we pursue similar development goals, complement each other's strengths, and have enormous potential for mutually-beneficial cooperation. According to the 2023 statistics from the Philippines, your total import and export volume of foreign trade was about 200 billion US dollars, a year-on-year decrease of 8%. The trade volume between the Philippines and other major trading partners has significantly decreased, while China-Philippines trade continues to rise in defiance of the trend, reaching a total of 40 billion US dollars, a year-on-year increase of 2.7%. China has been the largest trading partner of the Philippines for 8 consecutive years, and investment in the Philippines has also maintained rapid growth, making it one of the largest sources of investment. The Chinese and the Philippine economy are both part of the global value, industrial, and supply chains. We have formed a deeply-intertwined pattern of interests.
For the world, the next “China” is still China; China’s development cannot be separated from the world, while the development of the world cannot happen without China. Talking down on China will only backfire, and misjudging China will only squander opportunities.
I am looking forward to today’s Manila Forum as we gain insights into the trends of China’s growth, the world’s economic situation, and the opportunities and inspirations they bring to the Philippines’ socioeconomic development.
To conclude, I wish this Forum a complete success!
Thank you!