By Anna Felicia Bajo, GMA Integrated News

Fourteen bilateral deals have been signed during President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr.’s state visit to China, Palace said on Wednesday.

These deals were in the sectors of agriculture, infrastructure, development cooperation, maritime security, and tourism, among others.

The two countries signed a joint action plan for 2023-2025 on agricultural and fisheries cooperation between the Department of Agriculture (DA) and China’s Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, as well as a memorandum of understanding (MOU) on cooperation on the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), which was launched by Chinese President Xi Jinping in 2013.

The BRI is a global infrastructure development strategy to invest in nearly 150 countries and international organizations, which will enhance connectivity and facilitate smoother trade flows among Asia, Europe, and Africa.

Manila and Beijing also had a deal on the handover certificate of the Philippine-Sino Center for Agricultural Technology-Technological Cooperation Phase III (PHILSCAT-TCP III).

A memorandum of understanding was also signed between the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology of China and the Philippines’ Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) on digital and information and communications technology (ICT) cooperation.

They also agreed on a protocol of phytosanitary requirements for the export of fresh durians from the Philippines to China between the DA and China’s General Administration of Customs.

Also sealed was the the handover certificate of two bridge projects in Manila, the Binondo-Intramuros bridge and the Estrella-Pantaleon bridge, the Palace said.

There was also the framework agreement for the Renminbi-portion of the loan financing for three priority projects of the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH).

Four loan agreements for the mixed-credit financing (US Dollar and Renminbi) of three priority bridge projects under the DPWH were also signed.

The Philippines and China also agreed on the implementation of a memorandum of understanding on tourism between their respective tourism departments.

Further, a MOU between the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) and the Ministry of Commerce of China on electronic commerce cooperation; a MOU between the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) and China’s International Development Cooperation Agency on the Development Cooperation Plan 2023-2025; and an agreement on economic and technical cooperation between China and the Philippines were also inked.

A mutual recognition agreement between the General Administration of Customs of China and the Bureau of Customs (BOC) of the Philippines on authorized economic operator programme was also inked by the two countries.

Durian protocol

In his meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping, Marcos said the foreign leader has promised to address the trade deficit gap as China is ready to accept high-value Philippine agricultural products.

During a bilateral meeting, Marcos said China has become the Philippines’ largest trading partner but noted an imbalance between exports and imports. He bared that China will import durian from the Philippines.

“We talked about the trade imbalance between our country and China and what we can do to remedy this,” said Marcos.

“In fact, there has been created what we are now calling the durian protocol, because they are opening their trade to imports of durian and other agricultural products from the Philippines so that we can redress the imbalance in our imports and exports from China,” he added.

According to the Office of the Press Secretary, Marcos also said he looks forward to welcoming Chinese nationals in visiting the Philippines once the COVID-19 situation in China becomes more manageable.

COVID-19 infections in China have spiked in the past weeks. International health experts estimate millions of daily infections and predict at least one million COVID-19 deaths in China next year.

The President earlier said the government may require COVID-19 tests on travelers from China, depending on the “true risk” to Filipinos.—LDF, GMA Integrated News