It all began with a new bilateral agreement signed between the two countries in early January, following the state visit of Philippines President Ferdinand Marcos Jr to Beijing, which opened China's door to fresh Philippines durians for the first time.
More than 900km southeast of Manila, Davao City is dubbed “durian capital of the Philippines”. With the volcanic soil of Mount Apo said to give the pungent “king of fruit” a unique flavour, the region accounts for almost 80 per cent of all durians grown in the country.
But at the same time, the news also frayed nerves in neighbouring countries, including Thailand, Vietnam and Malaysia, especially as many observers have been increasingly ascribing political significance to the durian trade — despite being a tiny entry in the trillion-US-dollar annual trade between China and Southeast Asia.
In the past year, China’s opening up of its market to more countries for fresh durians has been popularly labelled “durian diplomacy”, spurred by both the growing appetite of Chinese durian lovers and Beijing’s wish to cement its ties with Association of Southeast Asian Nations amid rising tensions with the US, according to pundits.
In 2022, China imported more than 824,000 tonnes of fresh durians, valued at more than US$4 billion . That was nearly four times the volume seen in 2017, and seven times the value, according to data from China Customs. He said it would also help Vietnamese farmers — who account for a big portion of the country’s population — eye China as a potential market for other agricultural products.
Dr Li Mingjiang, assistant professor at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies at Nanyang Technological University in Singapore, said no Southeast Asian countries want to choose between the US and China. Accompanying the excitement of Vietnamese and Filipino farmers and exporters, following Beijing’s green light, were worries from Thailand and Malaysia.
“Previously, China used Filipino bananas to also make a political point,” said Dr Wong, who holds a PhD in political science from the University of Canterbury in New Zealand.
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