GOVPH

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.

CG Ignacio and the team were given a tour of the facility that underscored Huawei’s heavy investment in R&D.They were then briefed on Huawei’s latest products and services. Featured were Huawei’s impressive array of innovations, cutting-edge hardware, and pioneering 5G technology applications touching on a broad scope of life and activity. Huaweihighlighted applications in the 5Gigaverse, spanning fields beyond basic telecommunications to embrace industry, construction, logistics, telemedicine, energy, agriculture, resource conservation and others.

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