JANUARY-JUNE 1999 RP-CHINA BILATERAL TRADE

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During the first semester of 1999, the volume of bilateral trade between China and the Philippines was registered at US$1.1 billion, which is a 28.4 per cnet increase over the same period in 1998. Compared with the other four original members of ASEAN, the Philippines ranks fifth, as follows:

China's Regional Trade with ASEAN 5

Table 1. Chinese Trade with Five ASEAN Member Countries (in US$)

(January-June 1999)

*Country*	Trade Volume	Export	Import	% increase over first quarter 1998
*Country*	Trade Volume	Export	Import	Export	Import	Total
Indonesia	2,078,572	662,350	1,416,222	36.3	14.2	20.4
Malaysia	2,295,801	697,004	1,598,797	(8.1)	35.2	18.3
Philippines	1,100,498	732,411	368,088	14.7	68.6	28.4
Singapore	3,922,009	1,927,679	1,994,330	11.5	1.2	6.0
Thailand	1,862,900	599,122	1,263,778	(11.0)	13.1	4.0
Total	11,259,780	4,618,566	6,641,215

it will be noted from the above table that except for the Philippines, the four ASEAN countries have the balance of trade with China in their favor;

the Philippines has the smallest share from the total volume of trade of China with the five Southeast Asian countries at 9.77 per cent; it also has the lowest share from the total exports to China by the five ASEAN countries at 5.54 per cent during the period under review;

however, the Philippines registered the biggest percentage increase in exports to China among the five countries at 68.6 per cent;

China’s overall exports to the original five ASEAN member countries have started to pick up during the period under review; last year, exports to ASEAN declined as a result of the Asian financial crisis;

the ten major export products of the Philippines to China and vice versa are attached as Tables 2 and 3. It will be noted from Table 2 that the top ten commodities constitute 90.5 per cent of the Philippine total exports to China; this points to a need to diversify Philippine exports to China;

Table 2. TOP TEN PHILIPPINE EXPORTS TO CHINA

(January-June 1999)

(in US$ million)

Rank	SITC Section/ Division	Commodity	Amount	% Inc/(Dec.) over 1998 1^st semester
1	XVI.85	electrical machinery and equipment and parts thereof; sound recorders and reproducers; television image and accessories of such articles (cathodes, semi-conductors, micro circuits)	139.198	251.9
2	XVI.84	boilers, machinery and mechanical appliances; parts thereof	66.932	57.57
3	XV.74	copper and articles thereof	62.033	46.3
4	V.27	mineral fuels/oils and products of their distillation (LPG)	23.872	24.24
5	II.08	edible fruits and nuts; peel of citrus fruits and melons (bananas)	11.242	(1.76)
6	X.48	Paper and paperboard	9.503	468.02
7	V.26	ores, slag and ash	8.759	91.37
8	VI.38	Misc. chemical products	4.651	2.69
9	VII.39	plastics and articles thereof	4.385	(23.62)
10	VII.40	Rubber and articles thereof	2.537	46.31
		Sub-total	333.112*
		OTHERS	34.976
		TOTAL	US$368.088

*top 10 Philippine exports to China constitute 90.50 per cent of the total.

Source: China’s Customs Statistics, Series No. 118, June 1999

Economic Information and Agency, Hong Kong

Table 3. TOP TEN CHINESE EXPORTS TO THE PHILIPPINES

(January-June 1999)

(in US$ million)

Rank	SITC Sec/Div	Commodity	Amount	% Inc./(Dec.) over 1998 1st semester
1	XVI.85	electrical machinery and equipment and parts thereof; sound recorders and reproducers; television image; parts and accessories of such articles	306.320	138.62
2	XVI.84	boilers, machinery and mechanical appliances	72.703	43.01
3	II.10	cereals (rice, maize)	43.114	(59.53)
4	XVII.89	Ships, boats and other floating structures	21.061	100.00
5	VI.28	inorganic chemicals	18.833	20.38
6	IV.24	Tobacco and manufactured tobacco substitutes	17.932	56.70
7	XI.52	Cotton	15.544	(6.5)
8	XI.55	man-made staple fibers (textiles, garments)	15.137	(33.92)
9	V.27	mineral fuels, mineral oils and products of their distillation (petroleum oils)	13.222	(62.20)
10	XV.73	Articles of iron or steel	11.477	(8.06)
		Sub-total	535.343*
		OTHERS	197.068
		TOTAL	US$732.411

* China's top ten exports to the Philippines constitute 73.9 per cent of the total.

Source: China’s Customs Statistics, Series No. 118, June 1999

Economic Information and Agency, Hong Kong

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