Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte landed in Beijing yesterday, bringing more than 400 of the country’s most important business leaders with him as he looks to bolster foreign investment back home.
It’s a significant event for two reasons, among which is speculation that Duterte wants to strengthen ties with China at the expense of its traditional alliances with the United States.
But it is also an indication of one of the main casualties of his leadership so far. With his high profile war on drugs, which has seen almost 4,000 deaths in the past three months, and a ruthless anti-gambling stance that has cut heavily into government revenues, the Philippines economy has taken a big hit with investors fleeing the local market to the tune of almost US$400 million.
In an interview with Chinese state news agency Xinhua before his trip, Duterte said, “My grandfather is Chinese. It’s only China that can help us.
“All that I would need to do is just to talk and get a firm handshake from the officials and say that we are Filipinos and we are ready to cooperate with you, to help us in building our economy and building our country.
“If we can have the things you have given to other countries by the way of assistance, we’d also like to be a part of it and to be a part of the greater plans of China about the whole of Asia, particularly Southeast Asia.”
