Philippines, Chongqing Chart Pathways to Stronger Ties

Chongqing, 20 July 2023 – Philippine Consul General Flerida Ann Camille P. Mayo met with Chongqing Vice-Mayor Zhang Guozhi at the Chongqing Foreign Affairs Office (FAO) today for a one-on-one discussion on jointly furthering cooperation between the Philippines and Chongqing.

Consul General Mayo and Vice Mayor Zhang, who supervises Chongqing’s foreign affairs portfolio, exchanged updates on their respective countries’ growth trajectories and drilled down to commercial relations between the Philippines and Chongqing.  They agreed that there was great scope for Chongqing to raise its share of total trade between the Philippines and China, including through manufacturing inputs for local supply chains.  “Chongqing’s commitment to opening up and the Philippines’ business environment reforms as well as our ratification of the RCEP Agreement present many opportunities to broaden our commercial relations,” Consul General Mayo observed.

Recalling priority areas identified during the state visit of President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr. to China last January, both sides exchanged views on ways to concretize cooperation in agriculture, trade and investment, infrastructure and energy, as well as people to people ties through tourism, education and new media exchanges.  They also expressed support for stronger two-way participation in trade fairs and deployment of business missions, mutual learning in agriculture modernization and cooperation under RCEP and dedicated services for Philippine companies investing in Chongqing. 

“Going forward, the Philippine Consulate General will ride on the current momentum in Chongqing to engage foreign partners and undertake related follow-on activities in partnership with the local municipal government to scale up Philippines-Chongqing business and people-to-people ties,” Consul General Mayo said. END