SUMMARY
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MANILA, Philippines (UPDATED) – In 2002, former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo signed Proclamation No. 148, which officially declared June 9 as Filipino-Chinese Friendship Day.
This serves as a commemoration of the strong alliance between the two nations and their diplomatic relations established on June 9, 1975, when Chinese Premier Chou En-lai and Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos signed the Joint Communique that forged “mutual recognition and the establishment of diplomatic relations at ambassadorial level” between the two countries.
Arroyo’s proclamation states: “It is thus fitting to designate one day in the year as Philippine-China Friendship Day to celebrate all that both countries enjoy and cherish together especially in the fields of socio-cultural, economic, and educational cooperation.”
Although the two countries have been locked in territorial tug-of-war issues, they have maintained relations in the areas of trade and tourism.
President Rodrigo Duterte, meanwhile, said that he is looking forward to strengthening ties between the Philippines and China as he is set to visit the Asian giant from October 18 to 21.
Here’s a quick overview of the relationship of the Philippines and China – as told in latest available figures:
DEMOGRAPHICS
28,750 | Estimated Chinese living in the Philippines as of 2010 |
29,691 | Estimated number of permanent, temporary, and irregular overseas Filipinos in China as of 2013 |
DIPLOMATIC RELATIONS
1975 | Year when diplomatic bilateral relations between the Philippines and China were established |
2009 | Signing of Joint Action Plan for Strategic Cooperation |
7 | Number of Philippine foreign service posts in China |
24 | Pairs of “sister cities” or “sister provinces” between China and the Philippines |
7 | Number of Philippine foreign service posts in China – Beijing, Chongqing, Guangzhou, Shanghai, Xiamen, Hong Kong, and Macau) |
BILATERAL AGREEMENTS
1978 | Scientific and Technological Cooperation Agreement signed |
1979 | Cultural Cooperation Agreement, Civil Aviation and Transportation Agreement signed |
2001 | Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) on Sports Cooperation, Cooperation in Information Industry, Cooperation in the Crackdown on Transnational Crimes, Treaty on Extradition, Pact on Cooperation Against Illicit Traffic and Abuse of Narcotic Drugs signed |
2002 | MOU on Tourism Cooperation signed |
2005 | MOU on Maritime Cooperation, Pact on Cooperation in Youth Affairs signed |
2007 | MOU on Cooperation in Sanitary and Phytosanitary Cooperation, Education Cooperation, Pact on Protection of Cultural Heritage signed |
2008 | Pact on Sanitary Cooperation signed |
TOURISM
490,841 | Estimated number of Chinese visitors to the Philippines in 2015 |
1.004 million | Estimated number of Filipino visitors to China in 2015 |
STATE VISITS
1975 | President Ferdinand Marcos visited China |
1981 | Premier Zhao Ziyang visited the Philippines |
1988 | President Corazon Aquino visited China |
1990 | Premier Li Peng visited the Philippines |
1993 | President Fidel Ramos visited China |
1996 | President Jiang Zemin visited the Philippines |
1999 | Premier Zhu Rongji visited the Philippines |
2000 | President Joseph Estrada visited China |
2001 | President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo first visited China |
2005 | President Hu Jintao visited the Philippines |
2007 | Premier Wen Jiabao visited the Philippines |
2011 | President Benigno Aquino III visited China |
ECONOMY AND TRADE
$1.272 billion | Development assistance to the Philippines from China from 2002 until 2013 |
$17.646 billion | Bilateral trade between China and the Philippines in 2015 |
$6.175 billion | Philippine exports to China in 2015 |
$11.471 billion | Philippine imports from China in 2015 |
$1.455 billion | Chinese investments in the Philippines in 2015 |
OTHERS
2012 | Year when the Chinese New Year was first proclaimed as a special non-working holiday in the Philippines, as per Proclamation No. 295 |
– Updated by Jodesz Gavilan and Michael Bueza/Rappler.com
Sources: Philippines-China Relations: Beyond the Territorial Disputes, Official Gazette, Philippine Statistics Authority, Embassy of the Republic of the Philippines in China, Embassy of the People’s Republic of China in the Philippines
Elizabeth Ruth Deyro is a Rappler intern.
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