China unveils opportunities for Philippines as key trade partner

CEBU, Philippines — With 1.42 billion people as of 2018 and being the world's second biggest economy, second largest importer and consumer globally, China offers so much trade opportunities for the Philippines, its key trade partner.

And as relations between the Philippines and China have improved Under President Duterte, China is now much willing to buy more from the Philippines.

Jin Yuan, commercial counselor at the Embassy of the People's Republic of China, said China really has a huge market.

"We want more Philippine products to enter the Chinese market," Yuan told Cebuano businessmen yesterday in a forum on the upcoming China International Import Expo (CIIE) happening in Shanghai, China on Nov. 5-10 this year.

Cebuano exporters and business leaders have expressed interest to join the first CIIE, which is China's firm support to trade liberalization and open its market to the world.

"As long as you can produce we will import," he further told local exporters in Cebu.

Yuan noted there is a need to rebalance trade between the Philippines and China, considering the former's exports to the latter are lesser than its imports.

China, including Hong Kong, is the Philippines' top trading partner, top export market and top import source.

In 2017, Philippines' trade with China grew 13.79 percent, with 7.83 percent and 20.05 percent growth in exports and imports, respectively.

Senen Perlada, director of Export Marketing Bureau of the Department of Trade and Industry, said Philippines' exports to mainland China have grown "flat" in the last few years, which only shows the country hasn't taken advantage of the opportunity to export more to China.

On the other hand, Philippines' imports from China have more than doubled in the last five years.

Thus, a trade deficit on the Philippines side and that there is a need to rebalance trade between the two nations.

The Philippines total merchandise trade with China continues to rise and it has become its top bilateral trading partner surpassing Japan in 2016.

Glenn Penaranda, commercial counselor at the Philippine Trade and Investment Center in Beijing, said China's consumer market demands for industrial goods, and consumer goods and services amid its growing middle class market.

He said food products and design-driven products have so much opportunities to enter the Chinese market.

He cited fruits, processed food, coconut oil, virgin coconut oil, high-value seafood, and coconut water, among others.

He said Cebu can also take advantage of exporting design-driven products such as furniture, home furnishing and decors, and fashion accessories, among others.

Penaranda said China aims to import US$10 trillion worth of products and services in the next five years, which poses an enormous potential for suppliers from the Philippines to penetrate the huge China market.

China's market, according to Forbes, is emerging as consumers are now rapidly engaging digital ways on marketing with 420 million internet users in China.

Chinese consumers are second to those in the United States on spending on luxury goods.