Best States For Business 2016Japan's prime minister became the first foreign head of state to visit the Philippines last week under President Rodrigo Duterte, and he extended a development aid package hours after arrival. Duterte, in office in Manila since June, has turned the Philippines into something of an economic assistance battleground between Japan and China, who don’t like each other for a list of reasons reaching back to World War II. China and Japan have vied since 2004 to be Asia's chief economic and military sugar daddy as ways and curtail the rival donor’s influence. China pledged $24 billion in aid to the Philippines in October, perhaps prompting Japanese PM Shinzo Abe’s Thursday-Friday visit. But the two countries offer aid in three not so subtle different ways.

Source: Forbes January 16, 2017 03:00 UTC