In October 2019,  the Philippines and China signed several agreements that will potentially strength ties between the two nations.

Two of the agreements are part of President Duterte’s flagship infrastructure program called “Build, Build, Build” while the other four cover trade, customs, and communications. They also discussed the best ways to integrate the “Build, Build, Build” program with China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) as well as the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) agreement.

Key projects include the construction of a 24.4km (15.1 miles) expressway within Davao City connecting the Sta. Ana Port to the outer part of the city. This was proposed by the Duterte administration in order to relieve traffic congestion within the city as well as encourage economic activities from the improvement of accessibility.  Also the Panay-Guimaras-Negros (PGN) island bridge project.

China is one of the Philippines major trading partners.  About 23.1 percent (in value terms) of all imports to the Philippines are from China.