In a rare appearance at a media forum in Quezon City Friday, Zhao revealed a Chinese businessman was financing a 120,000-square meter or 12-hectare drug rehabilitation center in the Philippines. The location has yet to be identified.
Earlier, Chinese businessman Huwang Lu Run donated a rehabilitation center in Nueva Ecija, which is expected to be operational next month.
Zhao said he was aware that many Chinese drug lords have been operating in the Philippines and while some have already been convicted, others still have pending cases, "The Chinese government is ready to cooperate and bring them to justice. So there is no thing as China trying to hide them or the drug lords…. Illegal drugs are our common enemies."
During Duterte's state visit on October 18-21, he is scheduled to tour a drug rehab facility in China, said Zhao.
China has been consistent in expressing its support for Duterte's war on drugs, in stark contrast to its superpower rival, the United States, which has criticized the government's anti-drug campaign.