CLARK FREEPORTHouse Speaker Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo has come to the defense of Pres. Duterte amid allegations of his being unpatriotically pro-China, as she noted that China has now become the Philippines’ number one trading partner.
“China’s effort in opening up has really been a boost for the economies of the world, especially the developing economies. The world should look at China’s rise as an opportunity rather than a threat,” said Arroyo at the recent Boao Forum for Asia (BFA) Annual Conference in Hainan, China.
Arroyo, who represents the 2nd District of Pampanga in Congress, is a member of the Board of BFA, which gathers together leaders in government, business, and academic institutions throughout Asia to share their thoughts on the most pressing issues in the region and the world.
For Arroyo, China “is a market, a donor and a provider of capital and technology” for developing countries.
“You know, when China was beginning to develop, about six years into its transformation, I was undersecretary of trade and industry, and we were looking at this economic dragon that was rising in Asia, and we were wondering when China would become a competitor in the world,” Arroyo recounted.
She said “little did we know that China is in a class of its own, and now, 40 years later under the presidency of Xi Jinping, it has become a partner in development. China, for us in the developing countries, is a market, a donor and a provider of capital and technology.”
The Philippines, she pointed out, has become China’s “No. 1 trading partner.”
“As a market for instance, it has become the Philippines’ number one trading partner. So, we have been able to benefit a lot by selling goods to China. Agricultural products for instance, if you eat a banana, it’s probably from the Philippines. So, it’s been a very big market for the Philippines,” she said.
The lawmaker also mentioned that China has been a “major source of assistance to some of the Philippines’ major infrastructure projects,” as well as a “major market for Filipino-Chinese businessmen.”
