Chinese embassy: ‘Beijing has no hidden geopolitical agenda’

MANILA, Philippines — With regional apprehensions surrounding its global infrastructure program and assistance, China on Thursday said it has “no hidden geopolitical agenda” in the Philippines and would never set any trap that would leave Manila in debt while expanding Beijing’s interests.

Chargé d’affaires ad interim Tan Qingsheng of the Chinese embassy in Manila said China would not stay shut behind closed doors while developing itself but will always be ready to share with other countries, including the Philippines.

One important lesson that China learned from its development over the past four decades, Tan said, is that “development will not be achieved by invasion, colonization or trade wars.”  

Tan said 2018 marks a milestone in China-Philippines relations with the state visit of Chinese President Xi Jinping last month, the first of its kind in 13 years. 

Chinese tourist arrivals up

Meanwhile, the Department of Tourism (DOT) has reported an increase in the number of Chinese tourist arrivals in the Philippines.

Tourism Secretary Bernadette Romulo-Puyat said 1,059,783 Chinese visited the Philippines from January to October this year, 30.71 percent higher than the 810,807 Chinese tourists during the same period last year. 

Puyat attributed the surge of Chinese tourists to the government’s continued tie-up with the Chinese government. 

“They felt more welcome here. Well, definitely it is a major factor because we’ve been continuing our ties with the Chinese government. So now, they’ve been encouraged to come to the country,” Puyat told reporters.   

She said the Chinese tourists contributed to the 7.43 percent increase in the number of tourist arrivals to the country.

The Philippines has recorded 5,880,895 foreign travelers in 2018, or 7.43 percent higher than the 5,474,310 tourists who visited the country in 2017. 

The DOT said travelers from Korea remain the top tourists in the Philippines followed by visitors from China, the US, Japan, Australia, Taiwan, Canada, United Kingdom, Singapore and Malaysia. – With Robertzon Ramirez