BUSINESS AS USUAL. Trade Secretary Ramon Lopez attended an event in Shanghai, China in November 2019. Lopez also participated in an informal World Trade Organization ministerial meeting on the sidelines of the China International Import Expo. (PNA file photo by Kris Crismundo)
MANILA -- It is business as usual for the trade and investment relations between the Philippines and China amid the new coronavirus (2019-nCoV) outbreak, Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) Secretary Ramon Lopez said.
Lopez told reporters Wednesday that the Philippine government has not cancelled its commitment to participate in trade and investment expositions in China, but it will take “extra precautions” in travelling to the neighboring country.
He said the Philippines will send delegates to three big trade fairs in China happening in the second half of the year.
Lopez said the Philippines will participate in exhibitions this year in China, such as the China-Asean Expo (CAEXPO) in Nanning and China International Fair for Investment and Trade (CIFIT) in Xiamen in September, as well as the China International Import Expo (CIIE) in Shanghai in November.
“We will continue with that, we are not cancelling any schedules,” he said in Filipino. “It’s business as usual with extra precautions.”
In terms of trade, Lopez said the 2019-nCoV may affect product demand, particularly in provinces where there are changes in consumer behavior.
“They still go out to buy food and I’m sure the demand will still be there,” he said.
For imported Chinese food products, Lopez said the purchasing managers of importers have assured him that the products are safe and will not be a carrier of the new respiratory disease to infect people.
The DTI will still receive incoming business missions from China, but delegations have to follow some precautionary measures, he said.
“We release suggested protocols as we entertain incoming missions. We just have to do the necessary precautions in terms of masks, as we plan for this, if there is incoming [mission],” he added.
To date, there are no scheduled visits from Chinese businessmen or trade officials to the Philippines, he said.
Lopez said the country’s commercial attachés based in China are now back in the Philippines because of the two-week Spring Festival holiday in China.
They will return to their posts in China after the break, he added. (PNA)
