Consular Services Appointment System
Consul General Ignacio pays courtesy call on Shanghai Municipal Government
Philippine Consul General in Shanghai Josel F. Ignacio paid a courtesy call on 25 August on the Shanghai Municipal People’s Government, represented by Vice Mayor Mme. Zōng Ming.
CG Ignacio joined fellow Heads of Consular Missions from Malaysia, Austria, Japan, Brazil, Argentina, Greece and Portugal.
Vice Mayor Zōng was accompanied by Director General Zhāng Xiǎosōng, Deputy Director General Fù Jìhóng and other officials of the Shanghai Foreign Affairs Office (FAO).
The Vice Mayor thanked the Consular Missions for their support and cooperation during Shanghai’s lockdown. She proudly cited statistics and indicators confirming Shanghai's strong rebound and recovery across all sectors. COVID-19 “did not alter the fundamentals of Shanghai’s high quality development”, said the Vice Mayor.
As most senior of the group, Consul General Ignacio gave the first response and commended the city for its successful containment of the pandemic and restoration of socio-economic vitality. He acknowledged the valuable assistance of the FAO and the Municipal Health Commission in addressing consular missions’ concerns relative to essential operations and rendering aid to their nationals.
With Shanghai quickly regaining its vibrancy, he reiterated the Philippines’ desire to elevate relations with China and the Consulate General’s commitment to reflecting this in ties with Shanghai. He identified trade, investments, manufacturing, transport, ICT, health and life sciences as areas of priority. He also cited the strong foundation afforded by long Philippine-Shanghai ties dating to the 1930s and the city’s “opening up” in the 1990s when companies such as Liwayway China Co. Ltd. and Metrobank set up shop locally. END
PH country team in Shanghai visits Huawei R&D Center
Discuss cooperation to foster investments in PH and ICT talents
Shanghai – The Philippine Country Team in Shanghai under the leadership of Consul General Josel F. Ignacio visited Huawei Technologies R&D Center in Shanghai’s New Pudong Areaon 24 August.
The Philippine team, which included DCG Marlowe A. Miranda, Consul Francis S. Herrera, PTIC-Shanghai Head Vice Consul Mario C. Tani and Tourism Attaché Ireneo H. Reyes, was received by executives led by Director ZHANG Zhiqian. Joining her were Corporate Administration Group Director ZHU Yanling; Regional Manager LIN Shuang; and Director/Technical Expert ZHANG Jie.

A hybrid conference followed, with a Huawei official attending from Manila. The group discussed Huawei’s Philippine operations and the company’s initiatives to support the country’s digitalization and development of the necessary infrastructure and talent backbone. Both sides committed to sustain their engagement and cooperation. END
PCG, Yingke Law Firm buttress partnership in legal sphere
Shanghai – The Philippine Consulate General in Shanghai visited Yingke Law Firm at its Shanghai Tower office in Pudong on 16 August, to review past collaboration and engage in forward-looking consultations on legal issues relevant to the Consulate General’s extension of consular assistance and conduct of effective economic diplomacy.
As authorized by the Department of Foreign Affairs, Yingke has been on retainer for the Consulate General since 2018. It has rendered services on legal cases advised the Consulate General on key developments in Chinese law and regulatory regimes.
Consul General Josel F. Ignacio was accompanied by Deputy Consul General Marlowe A. Miranda, Consul John Francis S. Herrera and Assistance to Nationals Officer Joany Margallo-Lucas. Receiving the team were Yingke lawyers KANG Ye, JIN Yinqi, CHEN Yuan, XU Junjie and GONG Mengjie. END
PCG, Taizhou Chamber of Commerce in PH join hands to drive PH-Zhejiang business linkages
Ms. ZHANG Hong Yang, Chair of the Taizhou Association (Chamber of Commerce) of the Philippines paid an introductory call on Consul General Josel F. Ignacio on 17 August, prior to her departure for Manila. Also present were Consul Francis S. Herrera and PTIC-Shanghai Head Vice Consul Mario C. Tani.
The Taizhou Association of the Philippines counts over 150 member enterprises, all of which are headquartered in Taizhou City, Zhejiang Province. Taizhou is one of China’s principal industrial cities and manufacturing bases.
Ms. Zhang briefed the Consulate General on activities of the Taizhou Association, including skills and Mandarin language training for Filipinos. She also touched on the launch and expansion in the Philippines of leading Chinese courier and logistics company YTO Express via YTO Express Philippines.
Both sides welcomed the sustained growth of Philippines-China economic engagement, and discussed the interest of several Zhejiang-based enterprises to import more Philippine goods and to invest in Philippine special economic zones.
Zhejiang Province is a priority of the PCG’s economic diplomacy efforts . It is China’s wealthiest province, and is a major export base and manufacturing center. Significantly for the Philippines, Zhejiang, together with Jiangsu, tops other Chinese provinces in terms of overseas investment. END