Ambassador Francis Chua is the Chairman Emeritus of the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PCCI). He is also the Honorary President of the Federation of Filipino-Chinese Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Inc. (FFCCCII). He founded the International Chamber of Commerce in the Philippines in 2015 and served as the first President. In the same year, he was elected as Chairman Emeritus of the Employers’ Federation of the Philippines (ECOP). In 2015, he was appointed as the Vice-Chairman of the Silk Road International Chamber of Commerce. In 2016, he established the Philippine Silk Road International Chamber of Commerce as the Founding Chairman.

He introduced Chinese trucks and buses to the Philippines in 1983. He signed a memorandum of cooperation with Chinese counterparts for launching the first international communication satellites for the Philippines in 1993. In 1997, the Philippines’ first international communication and broadcasting satellite was successfully launched by the Chinese “Long March III” rocket in Xichang, China.

Ambassador Francis Chua was also appointed by President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo as a member of the Constitutional Advisory Committee and as Philippines’ Special Envoy for Investments and Trade in 2006. His achievements in solving anti-Chinese incidents that suppressed the rampant kidnapping cases of Chinese nationals paved the way for him to become the Commissioner of the Anti-Organized Crime Committee by then President Arroyo.

Ambassador Francis Chua was also instrumental in the crafting of an Executive Order allowing foreigners who invest in the Philippines to obtain permanent residence visas during President Arroyo’s time. This policy did not only pave the way for the removal of Chinese nationals from the list of restricted aliens but also facilitated the granting of permanent residency to 50 Chinese nationals each year in the Philippines.

With the efforts of Ambassador Francis Chua, he helped FFCCCII obtain the rights to host the 10th World Chinese Entrepreneurs Conference and served as Chairman of the organizing committee. The conference was successfully held in November 2009 and was highly praised by more than 3,000 Chinese businessmen who participated in the conference from various parts of the world.

Furthermore, Ambassador Chua collaborated with Fujian Normal University to establish the Philippine Institute of Chinese Language and Culture and was its first Dean. He also helped the University of the Philippines and Angeles University establish Confucius Institutes.

Ambassador Francis Chua believes that the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) is the sum of China’s connections with the rest of the world and is the Chinese’s way of promoting trade, cooperation, and bilateral relations. He is more than willing to cooperate with China, to tell our Filipino brothers the good story of China, its efforts on peace, and how China is a country that cares for its people and mankind.