Philippines, China confirm $3.7-B cooperation programs

BEIJING (Philippine News Agency/Xinhua) -- China and the Philippines have confirmed cooperation programs worth $3.7 billion, during a meeting held in Beijing, a senior Chinese official said Monday.

"The cooperation projects, which are the first batch, on improving people's living standards now only need a series of bank-related procedures," said Gao Hucheng, China's commerce minister, after a meeting between the Philippine Cabinet delegation and Chinese officials.

The meeting was held to implement the results and consensus agreed by the two countries' leaders in October 2016. The Philippine delegation are on a two-day visit to China, which started Monday.

Gao said earlier Monday that the two sides had basically reached agreement about the implementing process and rules, and that he expected the two sides to sign the agreement before the delegation left Beijing.

Gao said the document would help ensure smooth, efficient, fair and transparent cooperation between the two countries in the fields of infrastructure, transport, highways, telecommunications, railways, irrigation and living standards.

He said that the six-year development plan for the two countries was nearly finalized, adding that he expected it to be signed next month in Manila.

Chinese Vice Premier Wang Yang met with the delegation led by Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez on Monday.

Wang said that China and the Philippines were friendly neighbors with great room and potential for economic and trade cooperation, urging the two sides to implement the important consensus reached by the two countries' leaders.

The vice premier also called for accelerating the drafting of a bilateral economic and trade cooperation plan and earnest efforts to implement priority cooperation programs.