Xiamen City, 16 November 2021 --- Consul General Maria Antonina M. Mendoza-Oblena paid her initial courtesy call on officials of the Xiamen Municipal People’s Government on 16 November 2021 at the Xiamen Municipal People’s Government headquarters.
Mayor of Xiamen Municipal People’s Government Mr. Wang Wenhui, together with Secretary General of Xiamen Municipal People’s Government Mr. Huang Jie, Director General Li Xiaoping of Xiamen Foreign Affairs Office, Deputy Director General Chen Yuejin of the Xiamen Municipal Bureau of Commerce, Ms. Lin Na of Xiamen People’s Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries, and Chief of Consular Division of Xiamen FAO Ms. Zeng Jinji warmly received Consul General Mendoza-Oblena and her delegation.
The Mayor provided CG Mendoza-Oblena with a brief about Xiamen – its achievements as a “highly-competitive and driven economy with an excellent ecological environment” in the words of President Xi Jinping; the direction which President Xi provided to the City when the latter served as 1st Vice Mayor, Executive Vice Mayor and Standing Committee Member of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Xiamen Committee; it being a role model in China as a robust and vigorous economy; as well as its long standing trade, economic, cultural, and sister-city ties with the Philippines.
Consul General Mendoza-Oblena expressed her gratitude to the Xiamen Municipal Government for their excellent assistance to and cooperation with the Philippine Consulate General, the Filipinos in Xiamen and the Philippines, especially in relation to anti-CoVid 19 efforts and assistance-to-nationals efforts. Consul General Oblena also thanked Xiamen Government for its assistance in the promotion of the Philippines as an investment destination particularly during the Xiamen International Cross-Border E-Commerce Industry Expo in June 2021 and for the two years of being Guest Country of Honor at the China International Fair for Investment and Trade (CIFIT), years 2020 and 2021. She conveyed her anticipation of resumed flights to Manila once the pandemic eases and hopes that such will usher a reinvigorated degree of cooperation between Xiamen and the Philippines, especially in terms of cultural exchanges and business ventures.
Mayor Wenhui expressed the hope that, under the leadership of Consul General Mendoza-Oblena, PCG Xiamen will continue to play its crucial role in the furtherance of good relations between Xiamen-Fujian-Jiangxi and the Philippines. Acknowledging that Xiamen is home to many Chinese in the Philippines, he looks forward to more Philippine investments to Xiamen and will likewise encourage businesses in China (Xiamen) to consider Philippines because it is an attractive investment destination.
A Luncheon hosted by Vice Mayor Huang Yantian of the Xiamen Municipal People’s Government was tendered in honor of Consul General Mendoza-Oblena.
Consul General Mendoza-Oblena was joined by Vice Consul Elaine Mae V. Laruan-Hernandez, Economic & Political Officer Faith Bautista, and Cultural & Information Officer Reigfred P. Albello.
