XIAMEN, China – The Philippines is considered the biggest trading partner of Xiamen City in Southeast Asia, with at least 210 Filipino enterprises in the Chinese city.

Located in the Fujian province in the southeastern coast of China and only two hours away from Manila, Xiamen is one of the primary markets for Philippine businesses in the banking, real estate, and manufacturing industries.

“As of June 2017, there are over 210 Philippine enterprises in Xiamen, with actual investment of $280 billion,” Zheng Shunlin, Foreign Trade Director of Xiamen Bureau of Commerce, told visiting Filipino journalists on Monday, July 17.

“The major investment from the Philippines to Xiamen lies in the manufacturing industry, accounting for 60%,” he said.

Business tycoons Lucio Tan, Henry Sy, and other magnates have established enterprises in the city since the 1980s.

Tan and Sy both hail from the province, which is the origin of some 1.68 million Filipino-Chinese.

Some Philippines businesses in Xiamen include an SM mall, a Robinsons Galleria mall, ETON properties, Asia Brewery Corporation, and Allied Bank.

Most important partner in ASEAN

Speaking through an interpreter, Zheng said the country is its most significant trading partner in Southeast Asia.

“Philippines is the most important trading partner among the 10 ASEAN countries. In 2016, the total trade volume between Xiamen and ASEAN is $11.72 billion, among which Philippines accounts for 28.8%,” Zheng said.

Within the Association of Southeast Asian Nations region, at least 40 percent of Xiamen’s exports go to the Philippines while its imports account for 11.3% in the region.

In 2016, total trade between Xiamen and the Philippines amounted to $3.37 billion, up by 16.4%

In the first half of 2017 alone, trade with the Philippines amounted to $1.46 billion – $1.22 billion from exports while $240 million from imports.

Xiamen exports porcelain, footwear, steel, and textiles to the Philippines. It, meanwhile, buys nickel, coal, automatic data processing units, and fruits from the Southeast Asian country. – Rappler.com