Philippines, Chongqing Chart Pathways to Stronger Ties

Clockwise: Vice Mayor Zhang Guozhi welcomes Philippine Consul General to China Flerida Ann Camille P. Mayo at the Chongqing Foreign Affairs Office (FAO); Consul General Mayo and Vice Mayor Guozhi discuss priority areas of cooperation to broaden bilateral ties; the principals (center) are joined by (left to right) Timothy Wong of the Philippine Consulate General, Deputy Secretary-General Wang Kuiwan of the Chongqing Municipal Government, Deputy Director General Li Mingquan of Chongqing FAO and Deputy Director General Xu XinCheng of the Chongqing Municipal Commission of Commerce; Consul General Mayo and Vice Mayor Zhang agree to contribute to the enhancement of Philippines-China relations. (Photos courtesy of Chongqing FAO)

CHONGQING 25 July 2023 –– Philippine Consul General to Chonqing Flerida Ann Camille P. Mayo met with Chongqing Vice-Mayor Zhang Guozhi at the Chongqing Foreign Affairs Office (FAO) on 20 July 2023 for a one-on-one discussion on jointly furthering cooperation between the Philippines and Chongqing.

Consul General Mayo and Vice Mayor Zhang, who supervises Chongqing’s foreign affairs portfolio, exchanged updates on their respective countries’ growth trajectories and drilled down to commercial relations between the Philippines and Chongqing.  They agreed that there was great scope for Chongqing to raise its share of total trade between the Philippines and China, including through manufacturing inputs for local supply chains. “Chongqing’s commitment to opening up and the Philippines’ business environment reforms as well as our ratification of the RCEP Agreement present many opportunities to broaden our commercial relations,” Consul General Mayo observed.

Recalling priority areas identified during the state visit of President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr. to China last January, both sides exchanged views on ways to concretize cooperation in agriculture, trade and investment, infrastructure, and energy, as well as people to people ties through tourism, education, and new media exchanges.  They also expressed support for stronger two-way participation in trade fairs and deployment of business missions, mutual learning in agriculture modernization and cooperation under RCEP and dedicated services for Philippine companies investing in Chongqing. 

“Going forward, the Philippine Consulate General will ride on the current momentum in Chongqing to engage foreign partners and undertake related follow-on activities in partnership with the local municipal government to scale up Philippines-Chongqing business and people-to-people ties,” Consul General Mayo said. END

For more information, visit https://www.chongqingpcg.dfa.gov.ph.