During the six-year Duterte era, the ties with China were recalibrated from friction and conflict to peaceful cooperation. In the past year, that period faded away. The costs are evident, huge and rising.ONE of the key assumptions of those policymakers who regard the plunge of Philippine bilateral ties with Beijing as a positive phenomenon is that China's economy is 'in a freefall.' Why build on bilateral ties with a dying dinosaur is their theme.The problem is that the assumption is flawed.
Worse, the costs of the plunging bilateral ties, which these policymakers describe as minimal to manageable, are high — as evidenced by bilateral trade, investment and tourism.China's brighter macroeconomic outlookWhen Chinese Premier Li Qiang took the podium at the World Economic Forum in Davos, he said that in the fourth quarter of 2023, GDP growth amounted to 5.2 percent. That's slightly better than the official target of around 5 percent. The Chinese economy is heading toward a soft rebound.Retail sales grew by 7.4 percent in December from a year ag