PHL, China sign pact on financing cooperation

The Philippines and China signed two agreements that would allow the Duterte administration to tap Beijing’s financing facilities and technical expertise to help fund its infrastructure and rural development projects, the Department of Finance said on Friday.

The deals were signed in the presence of President Rodrigo Duterte and Chinese President Xi Jinping on Thursday at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, the department said in an email statement.
 
Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez III and Sun Ping, vice president of the Export-Import Bank of China (China EXIM) signed the memorandum of understanding (MOU) on financing cooperation.

The MOU signifies the intent of the China EXIM to funding Philippine projects in infrastructure, agriculture and energy, among other priority sectors, through concessional loans and other preferential financing facilities.

The Finance Department noted the specific projects covered by the MOU would still undergo the usual approval processes.

"The MOU states that projects in infrastructure, energy, transportation, engineering and manufacturing would be considered by the two governments as priorities," it said.
 
A separate MOU was also signed by Dominguez and Chinese Commerce Minister Gao Hucheng on financing feasibility studies for the Philippine government’s major projects in infrastructure, agriculture and rural development. China would provide support for the feasibility studies "through the dispatch of technical experts and consultants” for a period of three years, according to the DOF.
 
The two agreements were among the 13 signed by the Philippines and China during the President’s state visit. — Ted Cordero/VDS, GMA News