President Rodrigo Duterte and President Xi Jinping witnessed the signing of six bilateral agreements between the Philippines and China, including those on the employment of Filipino English teachers in China, and on economic and technical cooperation between the two countries. Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez and Chinese Minister of Commerce Zhong Shan signed the Agreement on Economic and Technical Cooperation while Labor Secretary Bello III and Chinese Ambassador to the Philippines Zhao Jianhua signed the Memorandum of Understanding on the Employment of Filipino Teachers of English Language. Filipino officials and their Chinese counterparts also signed an exchange of letters on Phase III of the Technical Cooperation Project for the Filipino-Sino Center for Agricultural Technology; exchange of letters for the Pre-Feasibility Study of the Proposed Davao City Expressway Project; exchange of letters for Broadcasting Equipment to the Presidential Communications Operations Office (PCOO); and Preferential Buyer’s Credit Loan Agreement on the Chico River Pump Irrigation Project. Presidential Spokesman Harry Roque meanwhile added that, during the meeting, China had also pledged "500 million renminbi or 3.8 billion pesos in further economic assistance." Roque did not elaborate on the details of the said assistance. Accompanying President Duterte during the bilateral meeting with Xi were Presidential daughter and Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio, Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez III, Foreign Affairs Secretary Alan Peter Cayetano, Special Assistant to the President Christopher Lawrence “Bong” Go, Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana, Public Works and Highways Secretary Mark Villar, Communications Secretary Martin Andanar, Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque, Science and Technology Secretary Fortunato dela Peña, Energy Secretary Alfonso Cusi, and Philippine Ambassador to China Jose Santiago Sta. Romana. Military assistance During the meeting, Duterte took the opportunity to thank Xi for the assistance China provided during the Marawai siege. "We would like to thank again for the military assistance you gave us. It spelled the difference between victory and defeat, at least on a shorter term, that we are able to put down the terroristic activities that have perpetuated in Marawi," said Duterte. He said China and the Philippines can do more to boost military and defense cooperation under the framework of the 2004 Memorandum of Understanding on Defense Cooperation. "One of the things that we would like to assure you is that we would like the fullest cooperation between our two countries regarding transnational crimes and address terrorism," said the president. — Jam Sisante/NB/DVM, GMA News
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