06 December 2013 - Guided by the spirit of longstanding friendship and understanding, the City of Xiamen and the Philippine Consulate General have vowed to boost relations between the Philippines and China.

During his inaugural call on Director General Hong Chengzong of the Xiamen Municipal Foreign Affairs Office (FAO) on Tuesday, November 12, Consul General Julius Caesar A. Flores, expressed deep appreciation to FAO’s valuable support and cooperation to the accomplishment of the work of the Philippine Consulate General in Xiamen since its establishment in 1997.

Consul General Flores underscored the vital role of FAO in furthering cooperation between the Philippines and China, especially in the fields of economic, cultural and public diplomacy as well as people-to-people exchanges.  FAO committed to support the tentative program of activities of Xiamen PCG calendared for 2013-2014, including the symposium in Xiamen and Huaqiao Universities, performance of the Ballet Philippines, Philippine participation in the Xiamen Lantern Festival, exchange of visits among Philippine and Xiamen/Chinese government officials and other cultural performances and events. 

Director General Hong highlighted the importance of the FAO in institutionalizing the linkage between consular missions in Xiamen and FAO through the Four -Party Meeting mechanism, particularly in nurturing cultural cooperation through the biennial Nanyang Culture Festival.  FAO looks forward to the active participation of the Philippines in the trade fair, academic symposium and cultural performances of the Festival in March 2014.

Both officials agreed that the sister-city partnerships between Xiamen and Cebu cities could also provide more opportunities in deepening relations between our two countries and peoples, including maritime/shipping cooperation.  END