Palanca pointed out the transferring of foreign investments from China to abroad may be a better chance for the Philippines and other ASEAN countries. So the Philippines should make enough preparation to attract more foreign investments.
She also believed the Philippines can benefit much more from the Chinese market. In the past ten years, China made rapid development in export, but now China consciously began to expand import to narrow the trade imbalance. This means that the import is not only for industrialization, but also for expanding domestic demand.
When talking about the relationship between China and the Philippines, Palanca said, there is a misunderstanding in Filipinos that only overseas Chinese could do business with China. She said: “In the Confucius Institute at Ateneo de Manila University, many foreigners, including diplomats, are learning Chinese, because they realized China’s development will provide many opportunities.” During the five years since the Confucius Institute was established, the courses are improving and the number of learners keeps increasing. Furthermore, Palanca still hope there will be more people, especially those from the mainstream society of the Philippines, learning Chinese language, understanding Chinese and studying China’s development experiences.
For the Chinese side, Palanca believed that the key point is Chinese businesspeople need to be aware of the investment opportunities in the Philippines. She said that the Philippines’ economy is ready to take off. In her opinion, more investments are needed not only in mining industries, but also in manufacturing industries, agriculture and other relatively weak sectors in the Philippines.
|
|
