Binigyang-diin ni dating Pangulong Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo na prayoridad ang relasyon ng Pilipinas sa bansang China.
Sa kanyang talumpati sa First Manila Forum of the Association for Philippines-China Understanding (APCU), sinabi ni Arroyo na ang pag-donate ng Cina ng COVID-19 vaccines sa Pilipinas ay pagpapakita lamang ng malakas na ugnayan sa pagitan ng dalawang bansa.
“The relationship between the Philippines and China is priority for our country. One major reason is geography – the Philippines and China are located within each other’s backyard, so to speak, so good relations between neighbors is always a priority,” wika ni Arroyo.
Isiniwalat din ng dating Pangulo at House Speaker na ang nasabing donasyon ay ipinabatid sa pulong na kanyang dinaluhan noong Enero.
Dito ay sinabi raw ni Chinese State Councilor at Foreign Minister Wang Yi kay Pangulong Rodrigo Duterte ang pasya ni Chinese President Xi Jinping na mag-donate ng bakuna sa Pilipinas.
Dahil magkatabi lamang din aniya ang Pilipinas at China, iginiit ni Arroyo na dapat gawing prayoridad ang pagpapanatili ng magandang relasyon ng dalawang bansa.
“A third factor is that domestically, the Philippines has a vibrant well-integrated Filipino-Chinese community, for whom increased business dealings with China are natural,” saad ng dating chief executive.
“A fourth reason is that infrastructure is important for the Philippines in our drive for development, and there’s no country in the world that matches China’s recent track record and capability in this area,” ani Arroyo.
Dagdag ni Arroyo: “A fifth factor is that China’s economy has been the most dynamic and fastest growing among the major nations, and may soon become the world’s largest economy.”
