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Philippine Delegation headed by Consul General Maria Rowena Mendoza Sanchez
with Kunshan City Vice Mayor Huang Jian and officials from the Kunshan City
Philippine Delegation headed by Consul General Maria Rowena Mendoza Sanchez
with leaders of the Taiwan Compatriot Investment Enterprises Association of
Kunshan
18 June
2008 -
Philippine Consul General to Shanghai Maria Rowena Mendoza Sanchez led a
delegation composed of Consul Aileen Mendiola-Rau, Attaché Gerard Panga,
Attaché Niel Ballesteros, Chief Interpreter Michelle Tang, Trade Assistant
Hans Ding, Philippine Airlines Country Manager Teresa Tan and Ms. Geri
Zhuang to visit Kunshan recently and was warmly met by Vice Mayor Huang Jian.
In her official talks
with the officials of Kunshan City, Consul General Sanchez reiterated
President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo’s invitation to invest in the Philippines
in many areas offering opportunities for Chinese entrepreneurs. Consul
General Sanchez and Vice Mayor Huang agreed that the following areas of
cooperation can be pursued: tourism, trade, and investment. Vice Mayor
Huang also proposed the formation of a communication strategy that will put
into effect the cooperation between the Consulate General and Kunshan City.
During the
visit, officials of Kunshan City told Consul General Sanchez that they
welcome the expansion of cooperation in various fields and the strengthening
of trade relations between the two sides and that Kunshan City is interested
to establish sister-city relations with a Philippine city. Vice Mayor Huang
stated that he hopes to lead a delegation to visit the Philippines in early
2009.
Kunshan
City, located between Shanghai and Suzhou of Jiangsu Province, is a new
economic boomtown with an area of 927 square kilometers and a population of
about 2 million.
The rapid economic expansion and industrialization over the
past two decades have turned the city to a wealthy metropolis. Kunshan’s GDP
in 2007 was US$16.5 billion and a total trade volume of US$50 billion.
Investors from more than fifty countries and regions, specifically from
Taiwan, have established their subsidiaries with over 3,500 projects in
Kunshan. These industrial sectors have greatly enhanced the city’s economy
and have made the city as the one of China’s top counties in 2006. Kunshan
is now one of the important ICT clusters in the world and it has been
recommended by the Taiwan Electrical/Electronic Manufacturers Association as
one of the best cities with investment environment in Mainland China.
Aside from
the official meeting, the delegation met with the
leaders of the Taiwan Compatriot Investment Enterprises Association of
Kunshan and
discussed ways to cooperate particularly in tourism and
investment promotion. END |
