RP posts 1st trade surplus with China

BEIJING -- The Philippines posted a trade surplus with China last January, the first time since the two countries established diplomatic relations 25 years ago.

The two countries have increased two-way trade to a record $2.3 billion, with the Philippines exporting more products here than importing Chinese goods, official figures show.

Ambassador to Beijing Romualdo Ong told The STAR principal Philippine exports to China include semiconductors and electronics, textiles, canned tuna, mangoes, bananas and other foodstuff.

Philippine marble may soon enter the Chinese construction market following exploratory talks by Filipino marble producers with Chinese officials, he added.

Ong said two marble producers were able to convince officials in De Zhou City in Shangdong province to buy marble from the Philippines after they presented them with colored marble products.

Ong is confident that joint ventures will be signed by Filipino and Chinese businessmen during President Estrada's state visit to China from May 16 to 20.

The President's official delegation will include taipans Lucio Tan, chairman of Philippine Airlines, Henry Sy of ShoeMart, and John Gokongwei of Robinsons.

Chinese Foreign Affairs Vice Minister Yang Wen-chang said the Philippines has expressed hope that China would import more products from the Philippines.

"And so the Chinese government has decided to subsidize Chinese imports of Philippine bananas in the first couple of months of this year, the Philippines realized a surplus in trade," he said.

Yang said China's volume of trade with the Philippines in the past was less than $500 million, but that it has grown to $2.3 billion.

"I'm confident we will see even more growth of trading in the next decades," he said.

He said the Chinese minister of trade and economic cooperation reassured Vice President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo during her visit to Beijing last March 22 to 26 of improved bilateral trade between the Philippines and China following Beijing's accession to the World Trade Organization.

During her visit, Arroyo witnessed the signing of a memorandum of agreement between China Ferrous Inc. and Atlas Mining Corp. to form a joint venture to reopen Toledo Mining in Cebu and to supply China's demand for copper products.

Yang also cited active ties between the Philippines and China on agriculture and technology transfer with the exchange of high-level visits as that made to Beijing by Agriculture Secretary Edgardo Angara and his Chinese counterpart to Manila last year.

Ong had the same bullish outlook on the bilateral trade relations between the Philippines and China.

"For the month of January, according to the Chinese Trade Ministry, we have a trade surplus," he said. "Let's hope we can maintain the strength. Definitely our exports have increased considerably and now imports from China, while increasing, the increase is in much lower phase. We are in effect catching up."

Filipino journalists have been invited to China on the occasion of the 25th anniversary of the opening of diplomatic relations between the Philippines and China on June 9.