The Philippine Online Chronicles

While at the ongoing Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Summit, President Benigno Aquino III defended Philippines’ relations to “Big Brother” China.

“I think it would be unfair to say that the Philippines has not been a good brother to the big brother. I think we have demonstrated time and enough,” Aquino told a Chinese national during a question and answer at a business forum themed “Commodity Security for Economic Growth.”

Aquino pointed out that Filipino businessmen had actually invested $2.5 billion to China while the big brother only invested $600 million.

“If you look at tourism, we sent about 800,000 Filipinos out of our population of 95 million to China. China reciprocates by sending us 200,000. So in terms of balance of trade and tourism, we’ve sent a lot more than China sends to us,” Aquino added.

“We have invested more in China than China’s invested in us although China’s economy is way, way beyond ours,” he said.

In August, Aquino went to China expecting as much as $60 billion in trade agreements with China until 2016. He also hoped to convince China to declare 2013 as “Visit the Philippines Year” to attract Chinese tourists.

The President said the country is trying to be business-friendly but while “China is a very dominant economic player in the world’s stage play there’s a saying…don’t put all of your eggs in one basket.”

He added that the Philippines participates in global for a like APEC because the government believes “that the problems have a commonality and a common solution is necessary if we are to affect long-term solutions to all of us.”

China a work in progress

Meanwhile, Aquino, referring to the Chinese assertion on West Philippine Sea, said, “We recognize that they (China) are a system that is relatively young in its transformative phase. They are still defining exactly the entire model of their state and how they govern their people.”

He said nations should look at China as a “work in progress” and should exercise “long patience” to ensure cooperation and mutual growth.

US also disappointed

United States President Barack Obama who is also present in the APEC summit said Americans are wary of Beijing’s economic policy.

US deputy national security advisor Michael Froman said Obama “made it very clear that the American people and the American business community were growing increasingly impatient and frustrated with the state of change in China economic policy and the evolution of the US-China economic relationship.”

“The bottom line is that the United States can’t be expected to stand by if there is not the kind of reciprocity in our trade relations and our economic relationship that we need,” said Obama, referring to China’s record on intellectual property protection and reports of complaints from US corporations.