China’s ‘Belt and Road’ diplomacy

By the time this column is published I will be in Beijing for the China’s “Belt and Road” forum. It will be full house. The two-day forum is “President Xi Jinping’s signature foreign policy project connecting the ancient Silk Road Economic Belt and the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road.

The forum is the major international event of the year, with 29 heads of state or government to be in attendance (along with, of course, Xi himself). and of course our very own Philippine President Digong.

According to Xinhua, “More than 1,200 people will attend the forum among them officials, scholars, entrepreneurs, representatives of financial institutions, and media organizations from 110 nations. If the New York Times sends a reporter, China is counting the United States in that “110 (now 130) nations” figure.

We very nearly did not make it to be part of this gargantuan effort to unite the world. If former President “Noynoy” Aquino or his Liberal Party were in power it would have been unthinkable. But luckily we are under President Duterte’s stewardship. 

The program is defined by Chinese policy makers as a multi-billion initiative to link Asia with Europe and Africa, and the countries in between. It came from the ancient Silk Road, the passage from Asia to Europe through some of the most beautiful sights in nature. 

It connects China, Central Asia, Russia and Europe (the Baltic), with the Persian Gulf and the Mediterranean through Central Asia and West Asia, and connecting China with Southeast Asia, South Asia and the Indian Ocean. The 21st Century Maritime Silk Road is from China’s coast to Europe through the South China Sea and the Indian Ocean on one route, and from China’s coast through the South China Sea to the South. It is more than a diplomatic coup by China and if done rightly would unite the world together by creating the physical road to represent the much derided theory of “globalism.”

I regret I was not able to attend Ambassador Zhao Jianhua’s speech before the Anvil group of Chinese Filipinos (not Filipino Chinese as Ambassador Chan who developed the Oishi products corrected me). 

Zhao was one of the most loved Chinese ambassadors to Manila not only because he was articulate in English and able to convey his country’s policies but he also played golf where he became a close friend of Philippine media personalities.

I have excerpted from his speech before Anvil – the organization of young Chinese Filipinos. He told them to take advantage of “the warming up of China-Philippines relations as a new era for bilateral economic partnership and cooperation.”

“In ancient times, the Philippines played a crucial role in the ancient Maritime Silk Road and the Galleon Trade. Thanks to the trade route, many foreign staple food such as corns and potatoes were introduced into China and saved the Chinese people from famine and starvation in history. As an important hub of both ancient and the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road, as well as a founding member of the AIIB, the Philippines will find fresh energy from this strategy to purse inter-connected and win-win development.

The ASEAN community building vision will foster a favorable environment for Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SME) stakeholders. One example is that during the Chinese Vice Premier Wang Yang’s visit to the Philippines last March, more than 670 Filipino and Chinese SMEs participated in a cross-border business matching session and forged deals.

The Filipino-Chinese entrepreneurs are a special asset to bridge China and the Philippines. Your unique cultural identity presents enormous opportunities for you to get a deeper understanding of the two cultures, and to serve as linkages for mutual exchanges and cooperation between our two countries in various sectors.

China has a time-honored civilization, spanning uninterrupted over 5,000 years, influenced by many traditional philosophies such as the moral injunction of fidelity to one’s parents and brothers, the sense of propriety, justice, integrity and honor, unremittingly pursuit of self-renewal, emphasis on benevolence and kindness towards fellow human beings and belief that man should seek harmony with nature and harmony among themselves while shelving differences.

China now has the fastest computer in the world and has just hit a milestone in developing quantum computer to eclipse all others.

I advise you to travel to China more, and also to bring more Chinese friends and business partners to the Philippines. I hope you could pay more attention to the regional and global dynamics and adopt a paradigm shift, therefore seizing the opportunities out of this rapidly changing world. China attaches importance to the Philippines, we believe young entrepreneurs will play a bigger role in promoting China-Philippines relations in the future, while achieving your own career and life successes.

China deems people’s livelihood as the top priority of a government. Over the past 40 years, the Chinese government has lifted more than 700 million people out of poverty. Our goal is that by the year of 2020, poverty will be completely eradicated from the whole Chinese population. China does not want to control the region or the world, because China needs to focus on feeding its own huge population, which is still a daunting task.

In the first quarter of 2017, China has become the No. 1 trading partner of the Philippines. In March 2017 alone, Chinese and Philippine enterprises signed 73 trade agreements worth in total of $1.739 billion in various sectors ranging from agriculture products, textile, health care, mining to logistics. Now the Philippine tropical fruit farmers and traders become the direct beneficiaries of this improved relationship. 

My hope is that the Philippine side can maintain a relatively stable policy and create a favorable environment for foreign investors. Please offer guidance and assistance to Chinese investors and business partners who really wish to come to the Philippines.

My impression of President Duterte is that he is an unprecedented President. He is totally for the country and especially for the poor. He always tells me stories of how young Filipino workers live a day: they get up at 4 a.m. and spend 2-3 hours on their way to office, and after working 8 hours, they have to spend another 2-3 hours on their way back home, and usually arrive home at 11 p.m. Some people criticize him of being friendly to China, but I think he is doing his utmost to defend the Philippine national interests. He knows what approach he should take to achieve and expand his national interests

Your President will become a regional and global leader in the future.

I suggest the young Filipino entrepreneurs to visit and explore more about China’s inner land which are less developed than Beijing, Shanghai or Shenzhen. Try to diversify your destinations, and you will find more opportunities.”