15 August 2022, Cagayan de Oro City—Consul General Li Lin of the Consulate General of the People’s Republic of China in Davao, with Consul Chao Jianwei, and a group of Chinese business and industry leaders, paid a courtesy call to Cagayan de Oro City Mayor Rolando “Klarex” A. Uy and engaged in a business meeting with city government department managers.

The visit was initiated by City Mayor Uy and facilitated by the Cagayan de Oro Trade and Investment Promotions Center (Oro-TIPC), led by the Local Economic and Investment Promotions Officer (LEIPO) Eileen E. San Juan and Assistant Department Head Raelita E. Legaspi, with Trade and Investment Promotions Consultant John W. Asuncion, and Mr. Greg Marten Lao of the Misamis Oriental Filipino-Chinese Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Inc. (MOFCCCII).

With Consul General Li Lin were Consul Chao Jianwei, Mr. Nelson Chua, General Manager of Golden Dynasty Motors, Mr. Charles Zheng of the Davao-based China State Construction Engineering Corporation Limited, Mr. Celestino Chen of Huawei Mindanao Region, Mr. Yang Jianxin, President of Philippine Sanjia Steel Corporation, and Mr. Du Wei, Marketing Manager of New Hope Davao Agricultural, Inc.

At the business meeting that ensued at the City Council Session Hall, the Chinese delegation met with city government Department Managers EnP Ramir Balquin of the City Planning and Development Office (CPDO), Mr. Paterno Gonzales of the Agricultural Productivity Operations Office (APOO), Mr. Nick Jabagat of the City Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Department (CDRRMD), Engr. Nonito Oclarit of the Roads and Traffic Administration (RTA), and Dr. Michael Junne Perez of the J.R. Borja General Hospital (JRBGH).

Mr. Jordan Apat, Consultant to the Office of the City Mayor, presented the current administration’s RISE agenda, which stands for:

Together we RISE: The four-point agenda of Cagayan de Oro City Mayor Rolando “Klarex” A. Uy.

Local Economic and Investment Promotions Officer (LEIPO) Eileen E. San Juan presented the business and investment climate and prospects in Cagayan de Oro in the context of Metropolitan Cagayan de Oro (Metro CDO), the Philippines’ fourth and newest economic center which has Cagayan de Oro as its core city.

Strike gold in Metro CDO: Local Economic and Investment Promotions Officer (LEIPO) Eileen E. San Juan presents the investment
and business climate and prospects in Cagayan de Oro in the context of the metro.

The Chinese delegation also viewed the audiovisual presentation (AVP) of the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) detailing the planning process behind and the prospective projects planned for Metro CDO.

In the discussion that followed, moderated by Oro-TIPC Assistant Department Head Raelita Legaspi, the Department Managers and the members of the Chinese delegation talked about areas of collaboration, partnership, and mutual benefit, especially in modernizing agriculture and instituting tech-driven traffic and disaster management.

Consul General Li Lin thanked what he termed “the city of gold and golden friendship” for a productive business meeting and looked forward to entering what he called “the golden era of Chinese-Philippine friendship.”

In her closing remarks, City Mayor’s Chief of Staff Shiela Lumbatan expressed the current administration’s commitment to preserving and building on the gains of the previous administration, particularly international partnerships such as the city’s engagements with China.