Marcos to invite Chinese to visit Philippines ''as tourists, as students, investors''despite reported COVID-19 cases in China
President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. will invite Chinese to visit the Philippines '' as tourists, as students, investors'' amid the reported increase in the number of COVID-19 cases in China.
Several countries have imposed restrictions on Chinese arrivals due to an increase in COVID-19 cases. China's state media said travel entry curbs by other countries were unreasonable.
China said it will reopen orders on January 8.
"As our doors open up in the new normal, I will invite our Chinese neighbors to once again return to the Philippines as tourists, as students, investors," Marcos said in his speech before he left Villamor Air Base for a state visit to China on Tuesday afternoon.
Marcos, First Lady Liza Araneta Marcos and other members of the delegation left at 1:30 pm. They arrived in Beijing at 6:10 pm.
"Aside from sharing the wonders of our archipelago with our Chinese friends, strengthened people-to-people exchanges will allow us to bridge gaps in understanding between our two countries at every level. I shall push for the resumption of tourism and cultural cooperation between our two countries," he added.
Senator Grace Poe on Tuesday stressed that "the Executive should anticipate another pressing issue on the need for COVID testing requirements for all travelers arriving from China ahead of the expected lifting of Chinese travel restrictions on January 8."
Poe noted that "other countries like the US, UK, France, Canada, Japan, South Korea, India, Israel, Morocco, Italy and Spain have all reimposed their mandatory COVID tests and other rules on arrivals from China".
"The Philippine government should decide definitively on the matter and inform all travelers beforehand. The lack of proactive policies on the matter is concerning amid the rapidly developing situation overseas," she said.
"Our experience in the past three years of the pandemic has shown that delayed and uninformed COVID-related policies are sometimes more deadly than the pandemic itself," she added.
In his departure message, Marcos also recalled how China helped the Philippines during the onslaught of COVID-19.
"I recall our country’s profound appreciation and gratitude when China was there to extend its helping hand in the form of vaccines, personal protective equipment, and technical assistance at the initial onslaught of the pandemic. You were the first to come to our aid," he said.
Marcos said during the state visit, the Philippine government is expecting "to sign more than 10 key bilateral agreements to add to the over 100 agreements we already have with China."
"As I leave for Beijing, I will be opening a new chapter in our Comprehensive Strategic Cooperation with China. We will seek to foster meaningful relations and broaden our cooperation in various areas such as agriculture, energy, infrastructure, science and technology, trade and investment, and people-to-people exchanges, amongst others," he said.
"I look forward to my meeting with President Xi (Jinping) as we work towards shifting the trajectory of our relations to a higher gear that would hopefully bring numerous prospects and abundant opportunities for the peace and development to the peoples of both our countries," he added.
Marcos said he is also looking "forward to discussing political-security issues of a bilateral and regional nature" with the Chinese officials.
"The issues between our two countries are problems that do not belong between two friends such as Philippines and China. We will seek to resolve those issues to mutual benefit of our two countries," he said.
"In Beijing, we will seek to harness the potentials of our vibrant trade and investment relations as we accelerate the post-pandemic growth of our economy," said Marcos.
"In these meetings, I will be joined by key private sector representatives who have been and will continue to be our partners in boosting our economy," he added. Robina Asido/DMS
