Davao City Mayor Sebastian Duterte warmly welcomed Zhao Xiuzhen, the newly appointed Consul General of the People’s Republic of China in Davao City.
Consul General Zhao expressed her gratitude for the city’s hospitality and for the opportunity to meet Duterte, saying her predecessor, former Consul General Li Ling already assured her of a smooth transition given the city’s history of friendly people and strong ties with China.
“For the longest time, China holds the Philippines as one of our closest Asian neighbors.”
“For the longest time, China has held the Philippines as one of our closest Asian neighbors, doing concrete cooperation in the fields of agriculture and people to people exchange,” remarked Consul Xiuzhen during the meeting at Arcadia Events Center.
“We should implement more programs focusing on poverty alleviation as this addresses the wide equality gap for the Philippines as a third world country and which is mostly the area for the city’s foreign collaboration with other cities/states.”
Accompanied by Councilor Augusto Javier Campos the City Council Chairman of the Committee on International Relations, Davao City Investment and Promotion Center Officer in Charge April Marie Dayap and senior staff’s head of City Tourism and Operations Office Jennifer Romero and City Information Officer Harvey Lanticse, Duterte suggested to the Consul to implement more programs focusing on poverty alleviation “as this addresses the wide equality gap for the Philippines as a third world country and which is mostly the area for the city’s foreign collaboration with other cities/states”.
Mayor Duterte also pledged to support her during her three-year term as new Consul General of China in Davao City.
One possible plan was also the resumption of Davao-Jinjiang flights, widely supported by both parties which can open vast opportunities for the locals in Davao for mutual trade partnerships and tourism.
China is currently working with local and national governments to push for the early landing of cooperation agreements on major infrastructure projects such as the Davao-Samal Bridge, the Davao River Bridge, and the Mindanao Railway Project.
