China to work with new Philippine government to upgrade infrastructure: spokesperson

BEIJING, July 18 (Xinhua) -- China is ready to work with the new government of the Philippines to advance project construction and build more benchmark projects for infrastructure cooperation, a Foreign Ministry spokesperson said Monday.

The cooperation is expected to help the Philippines upgrade its infrastructure, Wang Wenbin, the spokesperson, said in response to reports that Philippine President Ferdinand Romualdez Marcos had instructed the Department of Transportation to negotiate with China as soon as possible on loan agreements for three railway projects, including the Subic-Clark railway project.

China welcomes President Marcos' instructions, Wang said, adding that infrastructure cooperation had been a highlight of the two countries' cooperation over the past six years.

The two sides have cooperated to build bridges and dams, and a series of projects, including the three railways, have been advancing in an orderly manner, he said.

Wang added that China always takes the Philippines as a priority in its neighborhood diplomacy. The inauguration of the new government of the Philippines marks a new starting point for the bilateral ties.

Not long ago, Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi visited the Philippines and had in-depth communication with the new Philippine government. The two sides identified cooperation in the four key areas of agriculture, infrastructure, energy, and cultural and people-to-people exchanges.