Light Up Our Shared Future by Paving the Way to Recovery

— Opening Remarks by Ambassador Huang Xilian at the first Manila Forum for Philippines-China Relations

Hon. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, former President of the Republic of the Philippines and Chairman Emeritus of Association for Philippines-China Understanding(APCU), Hon. Ramon M. Lopez, Secretary of Trade and Industry of the Philippines, Hon. Jin Liqun, President of Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank(AIIB), Distinguished guests, experts and scholars,

Dear friends,
Ladies and gentleman,

Good afternoon!

I am delighted to join all of you to launch the first Manila Forum for Philippines-China Relations. At the outset, I would like to extend warm welcome to all and sincere appreciation in particular to the first keynote speaker of this forum AIIB President Jin Liqun. I would also like to acknowledge the presence of distinguished friends from the Philippine national and local government, the political parties and international organizations by gracing today’s event, and thank APCU for thoughtfully organizing the forum.

Jointly inaugurated by Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi and former President Arroyo last January, the Manila Forum is designated to be a new dialogue platform, which aims at promoting better understanding between China and the Philippines by enhancing mutual trust, prompting collaboration and scaling down differences.

With a focus on China-Philippines relations, this forum will also provide a perspective on issues of the region and beyond through in-depth exchange and discussion. It is my sincere hope that the forum could help build a network of inspiring thoughts and ideas, to further strengthen China-Philippines relations, energize regional cooperation and address common challenges of the region and the world at large.

Facing the onslaught of COVID-19 pandemic, the world economy has been mired in deep recession. The mankind has encountered multiple crises rarely seen in history.

How the once-in-a-century pandemic has changed the world? How to achieve a complete global anti-pandemic victory at an early date? How to survive and recover from the lingering recession? What kind of approach we would take to reach the post-pandemic world? These are the questions of the times that we have to reflect on.

It is just to inspire in-depth contemplation and encourage innovative exploration over the aforesaid questions that we set the theme of today’s forum as “Join Hands to Boost the Economic Recovery from COVID-19–the Economic Growth of China and Its Implication for Regional Economic Recovery”.

As for China, we have spared no efforts to thresh out practical solutions to the rampaging pandemic and staggering economy. As President Xi Jinping pointed out in his special address at the World Economic Forum virtual event of the Davos Agenda last January, the problems facing the world are intricate and complex, and the way out of them is through upholding multilateralism and building a community with a shared future for mankind. In this spirit, China calls for enhanced international cooperation to fight against pandemic and promotes fair and equitable distribution of COVID-19 vaccines around the globe.

We also stay committed to upholding the stable and unhindered global industrial and supply chains, and continuously building an open world and regional economy. Domestically, we work relentlessly on both combating the pandemic and reviving economy.

I am proud to share with you that China has scored a complete victory in its fight against poverty, achieving the poverty reduction goal of the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development ahead of schedule despite the pandemic and making significant contributions to the global poverty reduction cause.

A Chinese adage reads, “Victory is ensured when people pool their strength; success is secured when people put their heads together.”China is keen to work closely with other countries including the Philippines to pave the way to achieve economic recovery and social development together. And I really look forward to your insights and suggestions in this regard.

In conclusion, I wish the first Manila Forum for Philippines-China relations a full success. Thank you and Mabuhay!