Duterte contingent in China: ‘Show of force’

President Rodrigo Duterte swept China by storm during his recently-concluded 4-day state visit. A contingent of about 500 businessmen tagged along, according to those in the know, a clear “show of force”. Some of them were not listed or officially registered.

Asked to confirm the estimated number, Trade Secretary Ramon Lopez would only say, “It’s over 200.” Sources told us the Aquino administration had a contingent of 200 when former president Benigno Aquino III visited China, and considering that relations under that administration turned lukewarm and has since thawed under the Duterte administration, it was but proper to send a much larger contingent.

Some of the businessmen expected to be matched with local Chinese businessmen through meetings set up by the trade and industry department, but were in for some disappointment. They wished the visit was better organized for them, according to one of them who was in China, to be better able to take advantage of doors that could have been opened for them. 

Duterte chose to stay at the Grand Hyatt Hotel, just 3 kilometers from the Forbidden City and the historic Tiananmen Square, instead of the Diaoyutai State Guesthouse, typically used by visiting foreign dignitaries and provincial government officials. Former residence of Mao Zedong and his wife Jiang Qing, the State Guesthouse has been converted into a hotel.

The choice of the Grand Hyatt allowed Duterte greater flexibility to meet close friends in the hotel. About half of the businessmen were said to be either close to the Duterte group or the Chinese embassy. Many of them had Chinese passports, we were told.

The businessmen were all present during the signing of 13 Memoranda of Understanding during the visit which, according to Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Liu Zhenmin, signaled a “full recovery of bilateral relations.”

One of the most promising fruits of the visit was the lifting of China’s travel advisory, cautioning its nationals against traveling to the Philippines. Sources say a tourism boom usually results in a 1:1 job creation. This could translate into 1 million-2 million jobs created by the targeted one million tourist arrivals by end of 2017.

Chinese tourists from the mainland, according to businessmen, are not like most tourists. They are big spenders and can be a huge boost to the economy. The challenge for the Philippine government is Philippine infrastructure – roads, transportation, airports, and even translators.

While he was in China, Duterte also had some downtime. The President himself had the time to lunch on Wednesday, October 19, with a group that included Chinese Ambassador to the Philippines Zhao Jianhua and Davao-based businessman Michael Yu.

A group of businessmen jokingly classified some of their colleagues into typhoon category types: Signal No. 4 is the strongest thus far, a category to which Yu supposedly belongs to. The likes of Lance Gokongwei of Cebu Pacific and James Gaisano of Davao they classified as belonging to the less powerful Signal No. 3. – Chay F. Hofileña/Rappler.com