By Genalyn D. Kabiling
BOAO, China – In another sign of improving bilateral relations, the Philippines and China are expected to forge an agreement allowing the entry of more Filipino English teachers to China.
The labor pact will be among the bilateral agreements to be signed during President Duterte’s meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping here today, according to Philippine Ambassador to the Philippines Jose Santiago Sta. Romana.
Duterte, who arrived in China yesterday afternoon, is due to hold talks with Xi on the sidelines of the Boao Forum for Asia today to further enhance bilateral ties between the two countries.
“There are some minor details still being ironed out, but if everything works, the agreement to open, to hire more Filipino English teachers for China, to open the Chinese market,” Sta. Romana said in a media interview ahead of the BFA annual conference in Boao, Hainan.
Sta. Romana noted that China has relaxed migrant workers’ rules, citing it was now interested in hiring non-native English speakers, or those from colonized countries compared to the past.
“There used to be a Chinese rule that excluded the Philippines as a legal source or as a source that they encouraged.
They wanted to emphasize you know, what they called native speakers but they have relaxed it now,” he said.
“Now they are more open, they are more accommodating and there’s growing need in China to learn English,” he added.
Apart from the proposed labor agreement, Sta. Romana said the two countries are expected to ink agreements to “further deepen and broaden the economic relations” and the final loan agreement on the Chico Dam development project.
“There are also agreements to basically, to improve the groundwork for more exchanges in the future,” he said.
“The final list will be known soon because as of now, actually, there are some minor details that we’re still sorting out. But we’ll expect there are a couple of agreements to be signed,” he added.