China, Philippines to Cooperate on 30 Projects Worth $3.7bn

China has agreed to cooperate with the Philippines on 30 projects worth $3.7 billion focusing on poverty reduction, the two countries said after a meeting in Beijing on Monday. 
Chinese Commerce Minister Gao Hucheng announced the deals without giving details, saying it was an "initial batch" of projects that still needed to be finalized and paperwork still needed to be processed by the banks involved. 
Philippines Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez said he had a "very productive" meeting with Gao and that they had discussed large projects in rural areas, as well as some smaller projects. 
The deal is the first announcement from a two-day Philippines cabinet delegation visit to China that comes three months after Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte visited Beijing to paved the way for new commercial alliances. 
Chinese officials pledged $15 billion of investment to Manila during Duterte's visit in October, according to the Philippines department of finance. 
The Philippine delegation is due to meet Vice Premier Wang Yang at Zhongnanhai, the Beijing complex that houses China's central government, later on Monday.