PH Consulate General in Shanghai Meets Jiangsu Foreign Affairs Execs, Discuss Elevation of Bilateral and ASEAN-Level Engagement
From left: FAO Asian Affairs Division (AAD) Vice Director Ms. WANG Wenhui, Economic Officer Consul Conrado B. Demdem, Jr., Deputy Consul General Marlowe A. Miranda, Jiangsu Provincial Foreign Affairs Office (FAO) Deputy Director General Mr. HUANG Xiqiang, Tourism Attaché Mr. Ireneo Reyes, and FAO Asian Affairs Division (AAD) Director Mr. ZHOU Gang. (Shanghai PCG photo)
SHANGHAI 19 October 2021 – Deputy Consul General (DDG) Marlowe A. Miranda, joined by Economic Officer Consul Conrado B. Demdem, Jr. and Tourism Attaché Mr. Ireneo Reyes, received today visiting Jiangsu Provincial Foreign Affairs Office (FAO) Deputy Director General Mr. HUANG Xiqiang.
DDG Huang is in Shanghai for a series of calls on the consular missions of ASEAN Member States, to discuss the Provincial Government’s intent to further heighten economic and cultural engagement with ASEAN countries, including a proposed “ASEAN-Jiangsu Exchange Week and ASEAN Cultural Festival” toward year’s end. The move represents Jiangsu’s contribution to this year’s commemoration of 30 years of ASEAN-China Dialogue Relations.
The DDG was accompanied by FAO Asian Affairs Division (AAD) Director Mr. ZHOU Gang, Vice Director Ms. WANG Wenhui, and AAD Section Chief Ms. HONG Beibei.
Highlighting ASEAN’s importance to Jiangsu in the Province’s own “new round of opening-up and reform,” DDG Huang, cited ASEAN’s rise as Jiangsu’s third largest trading partner. In 2020, both sides posted two-way commerce worth US$ 89.9 billion, about one-eighths of the province’s total bilateral trade.
DCG Miranda assured DDG Huang of the Consulate General’s support. He also took the occasion to thank Jiangsu authorities for its support for the Consulate General’s efforts to look after the welfare of Filipinos in the province, including the repatriation of Filipinos from Nanjing last May. Consul Demdem affirmed the Consulate General’s abiding interest in advancing PH-Jiangsu economic and business engagement.
Jiangsu is China’s third smallest province, but ranks fifth in terms of population (≈84 million as of 2020) and significantly, second in terms of provincial GDP. In 2020, GDP grew 3.7% year-on-year to RMB 10.27 trillion (US$ 1.59 trillion), second only to Guangdong Province.
It is also an important gateway for PH products bound for China. According to China’s General Administration of Customs, Jiangsu imported some US$ 3.4 billion worth of Philippine products in 2020, again ranking second only to Guangdong. END
Philippine Consulate General in Shanghai officials discuss a number of issues with Jiangsu AO delegation. (Shanghai PCG photo)
For more information, visit http://shanghaipcg.dfa.gov.ph/.