On the 17th, Luo Qingquan, Secretary of the Provincial Party Committee and Director of the Standing Committee of the Provincial People's Congress, met with Philippine Vice President Noli de Castro in Manila, the capital of the Philippines, and led a delegation to attend the 2009 Hubei-Philippines Economic, Trade and Tourism Promotion Conference.
At 2:00 PM that day, accompanied by Liu Jianchao, the Chinese Ambassador to the Philippines, the Hubei delegation arrived at the Philippine Vice Presidential Palace. Luo Qingquan expressed his gratitude to Vice President De Castro for taking the time to meet with them and introduced the development situation in Hubei. Luo Qingquan stated that economic and trade cooperation between Hubei and the Philippines is still in its early stages but shows a positive momentum. Last year, President Arroyo led a delegation to visit Hubei, which effectively promoted cooperation between Hubei and the Philippines in the fields of automotive, tourism, agriculture, education, and communication technology. From January to October this year, our bilateral import and export volume has increased by 30% compared to the same period last year. The economic cooperation between Hubei and the Philippines is highly complementary, and both sides have broad prospects for cooperation in infrastructure construction and agriculture. It is believed that with the support of Your Excellency the Vice President, there is great potential for comprehensive cooperation between Hubei Province and the Philippines.
De Castro stated that the visit of the Hubei delegation to the Philippines is a great boost to China-Philippines relations. Currently, the prospects for cooperation between Hubei and the Philippines in economy, trade, education, and tourism are promising. He hopes that not only will Hubei enterprises come to invest in the Philippines, but that the people of Hubei will also visit the Philippines for tourism and vacations.
At the 2009 Hubei-Philippines Economic and Trade Cooperation Promotion Conference, Luo Qingquan delivered an enthusiastic speech. He said that this economic, trade, and tourism cooperation promotion conference is an important platform for promoting cooperation. We must further strengthen trade and investment cooperation, enhance market development, and broaden the fields of trade and investment. We must further strengthen economic and technical cooperation. Hubei possesses a team of international engineering contracting enterprises with strong design and construction capabilities, as well as clear advantages in technology and cost in fields such as water conservancy, electric power, bridges, and roads. We hope to promote these enterprises to contribute to the infrastructure construction of the Philippines. We must further strengthen tourism exchanges and cooperation between the two regions. In the first 10 months of 2009, the number of tourists from the Philippines to Hubei reached 9,011, a year-on-year increase of 61.5%. The number of tourists from Hubei to the Philippines is also rising significantly. Tourism cooperation between Hubei and the Philippines is entering a new period of development with very broad prospects. We hope to take this promotion conference as an opportunity to reach more agreements on mutual tourist source exchanges and promote the common prosperity of the tourism market.
