SAN NICOLAS, Ilocos Norte—Citizens of the People’s Republic of China (PROC) now have a better reason to engage in business and pleasure in this northern gateway of the country after the formal opening of the Chinese consulate here. The formal opening of the Chinese consulate, located along the national highway in Barangay 1, San Nicolas, Ilocos Norte, was attended by big-tome Chinese businessmen, government officials led by Ilocos Norte Governor Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr., as well as other public and private organizations, including former First Lady Imelda R. Marcos and the Chinese Ambassador to the Philippines, Lin Jinjun. The opening of the Chinese consulate manifests China’s serious intent on enhancing its economic relations with the Philippines, particularly here in the province, Chinese consul Chen Lai Ping said in an interview after the ceremonial cutting of the long red ribbon and the unveiling of the Chinese government’s official logo. The Chinese consul added that they have yet to finalize their plan so they intend to conduct a business caucus with the province’s local government units as well as those from the neighboring provinces of Region 1 and the Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR). This is just the beginning, I said it for several time. We will expect more to come as we try to encourage our people in China to come and visit [Laoag and Ilocos Norte] and enjoin our investors to engage in business,” Chen said. For his part, Governor Marcos said having the Chinese consulate in the province shows there would be a great deal of development in the future. After the governor’s initial dialogue with the Chinese ambassador, who paid a courtesy call at his office before the formal opening of the consulate, Marcos reported that the Chinese government is eyeing several investments in the province particularly in agriculture, education, wind power, and mining. According to Marcos, the development of the Laoag International Airport (LIA) is one of the major concerns of China as he noted that he is set to go to China after the election to forge an agreement with LIA’s improvement and the possible acquisition of better equipments and facilities. Leilanie G. Adriano
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