China’s Huaihua to strengthen Philippines trade ties under RCEP

HUNAN, China – From a quiet mountain city in Hunan province, China’s Huaihua is steadily gaining ground as a logistics gateway for Asia-Pacific trade, and one that seeks deeper connections with the Philippines.

On May 10, during the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) Land Port Tour, Huaihua International Land Port general manager Yang Shijun emphasized the city’s openness to enhanced logistics cooperation with the country.

“The current situation is that our cooperation with the Philippines is still ongoing. We also look forward to developing more logistics channel networks with the Philippines so that economic and trade can be further deepened. We also hope that the Philippines and China can further deepen cooperation and improve relations.”

The comments come as the Philippines enters its second year as a party to the RCEP Agreement, the world’s largest free trade pact by GDP and population, which officially took effect for the country in June 2023.

RCEP spans 15 economies, including the 10 ASEAN nations and partners like China, Japan and South Korea.

Located at the junction of the New Western Land-Sea Corridor and the Shanghai-Kunming International Trade Corridor, Huaihua is positioning itself as an inland logistics hub capable of bridging central China with ASEAN markets.

From 2022 to 2024, Huaihua ranked first in Hunan province for foreign trade growth. Its trade with RCEP member countries rose by an average of 87.23 percent annually, with exports to ASEAN nations growing by 164 percent per year.

Outbound investment from Huaihua also posted triple-digit growth rates.

Currently, Huaihua International Land Port operates seven international rail routes, including those connecting China to Laos, Vietnam and Myanmar.

In the first quarter of 2025, Huaihua’s total foreign trade reached RMB 3.54 billion, a 9.3 percent year-on-year increase. Imports surged by over 100 percent, with cassava starch imports from Southeast Asia playing a significant role.

Huaihua International Land Port is on track to meet its 2025 targets, which include handling 10 million tons of cargo, running 1,200 freight trains annually and generating more than RMB 100 billion in total port-area output.

Despite this, Yang acknowledged that logistics cooperation with the Philippines remains wanting. “There are some in Fran, but not many. So we look forward to deepening our cooperation in the next step,” he said during a brief interview.

Huaihua’s expansion is part of China’s broader push to develop central and western regions through improved connectivity. Projects in Huaihua include smart cold-chain logistics centers, multimodal transport hubs and the integration of customs clearance innovations aimed at streamlining cross-border trade.

The city also hosts the annual Hunan (Huaihua) RCEP Economic and Trade Expo, which serves as a matchmaking platform for enterprises seeking to engage with regional markets.

For the Philippines, deepening trade and logistics cooperation with emerging Chinese hubs like Huaihua may present a complementary path to diversify exports, stabilize supply chains and tap into the infrastructure underpinnings of RCEP.

While bilateral relations between Philippines and China remain complex due to geopolitical tensions, economic engagement through multilateral frameworks like RCEP continues to offer an avenue for collaboration – particularly in the private sector.

As of early 2025, China remains the Philippines’ top source of imports, accounting for 28.9 percent of the country’s total imports in March 2025, valued at $3.10 billion according to the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA).

The country’s imports are mainly composed of electronic products (25 percent), mineral fuels (21 percent) and transport equipment (10 percent), sourced from leading trade partners such as China, the US, Japan and Taiwan.

China stands as the Philippines’ fourth-largest export destination, with exports totaling $762.78 million, representing 11.6 percent of the Philippines’ total exports for the month.