A whole range of bilateral alliances between the Philippines and China barely made the front pages and prime time news late last week but their significance, surely, will linger for a long time.

Foreign Affairs Secretary Alberto G. Romulo in a statement said the “Philippines-China Joint Action Plan for Strategic Cooperation” (JAP) involves a whole scale of bilateral relations between the two countries starting with economic to political aspects, and “maps out a general strategic direction in a span of at least five years.”

Romulo’s comment came in the wake of China’s expressed willingness to contribute to the world’s common prosperity, as noted at the Forum for Economic and Trade Cooperation recently.

Chen Jian of the office of the Minister of Commerce has declared China’s readiness in engaging itself in the process of economic globalization and free flow of trade and investment.

He said China has been seriously fulfilling its World Trade Organization commitment to open up the domestic market and gradually lower the average tariff.

“China is willing to expand the bilateral trade and investment through a concerted effort to smooth out the barriers in trade and the flows of logistics, personnel and technology,” he explained.

The expectation is that such intergovernmental agreement, like the one just signed between the Philippines and China, would lead to the creation of a better legal environment for trade and investment and the designation of project of mutual benefits.

Under the JAP signed by Secretary Romulo and Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi, the Philippines and China are to take strides towards close cooperation in wide-ranging areas in investment and trade, finance, agriculture, defense and security, law enforcement, cultural and educational, including consular and judicial, science and technology, and regional and multilateral cooperation, and sustainable development, among others.

According to Romulo, the consular agreement which is separate from the Joint Action Plan, is the first accord signed by the Philippines after the Vienna Convention.

“This will help facilitate the consular relations between the two countries, particularly Filipinos visiting China,” he said.

As a consequence, exchanges of high-level visitors are expected as, in fact, on Nov. 29, China is sending a big delegation to Manila to be headed by the fourth highest Chinese official to attend the 10th World Chinese Entrepreneurs Convention.

It has been reported some 15,000 entrepreneurs and local delegates and traders are attending the Manila convention.

This is, to say the least, a feat for the Philippines as it is for China in their mutual ascend to reach out and make a mark on the scene.

The members of the Chinese community in the Philippines presiding over their business empires, will surely play important roles in the implementation of the bilateral agreements between the two countries.

And there lies the core values and authentication of the newly signed twin agreements.

(zhern_218@yahoo.com)