PHL hopes for improved relations with China's new leadership

The Philippine government is hoping for improved political relations with China, wishing its Asian neighbor well as it undergoes a change in leadership Thursday.

“We wish China a smooth generational leadership change and we look forward to working with the incoming leaders in forging a positive, peaceful and stable relationship with China,” the Department of Foreign Affairs said in a press statement.

 

Vice President Xi Jinping was elected as general secretary of the Communist Party of China Thursday morning, replacing President Hu Jintao. Hu, however, will remain as China’s president until March.

 

The turn over of power in March will happen at the annual meeting of the parliament when Li Keqiang will step up as China’s new Premier being Premier Wen Jiabao’s designated heir.

                                     

“We hope that our political bilateral relations would improve, and that economic cooperation and people-to-people ties would continue to flourish for the benefit of our peoples,” the DFA added.

 

The Philippines’ relationship with China was shaken amid the territorial dispute in the West Philippine Sea (South China Sea).

 

Last year, the Philippines and Vietnam separately accused Chinese vessels of intruding into their territories in and near the Spratlys and of disrupting their oil exploration activities. But China has claimed it has sovereignty in those areas on historical grounds.

  

Chinese and Philippine government ships separately figured in a standoff starting in April this year at the Panatag (Scarborough) Shoal, a sprawling offshore area north of the Spratlys and off the country’s northeastern province of Zambales that both countries claim.

   

President Benigno Aquino III has ordered the withdrawal of two Philippine ships from Panatag Shoal amid the typhoon season to ensure the safety of Filipino crewmen. Chinese ships, however, have remained at the shoal.

 

Without admitting that it is a result of the rift, the Chinese government imposed stricter policy on imported fruits from the Philippines citing phytosanitary issues and issued travel advisories against visits to the Philippines.

 

Efforts to resolve the rift and rebuild ties have been taken since with the sending of new Philippine ambassador to China, several bilateral meetings, and even backchanelling efforts which dreww criticisms from different sectors.

 

Trade Undersecretary and Board of Investments managing head Adrian Cristobal earlier said any new partnership between the Philippines and China under the new leadership is a welcome development.

According to statistics from China General Administration of Customs, Philippines-China bilateral trade last year hit $32.254 billion, surpassing the 2007 high of $30 billion. 

 

Bilateral trade also increased 39 percent from $20 billion in 2009 at the height of the financial crisis, to $27.764 billion in 2010. Trade went up by another 22 percent from 2010 to 2011 to $32.254 billion.

 

The Philippines continued to register a trade surplus with China, largely fueled by exports in the electronics sector.  — Amita Legaspi/RSJ, GMA News