Near the center of Manila, construction workers are now rushing to complete a $69-million China-funded bridge by the end of this year after repeatedly missing deadlines.
The Binondo-Intramuros Bridge is set to be among the first to be completed out of the 14 China-funded infrastructure projects in the pipeline. Back in 2016, Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte traveled to Beijing and dramatically embraced China. "I announce my separation from the U.S.,” Duterte said at the time to a packed room of business leaders in Beijing after meeting Chinese President Xi Jinping.
Still, not everyone was convinced the $24 billion in Chinese investments would come without strings attached.