PRESIDENT Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. said he will push for the peaceful resolution of the country’s “issues” with Beijing and focus on securing a “harvest of agreements and investments” during his State Visit in China this week.
The President said he wants to open “a new chapter” in the country’s Comprehensive Strategic Cooperation with China.
Marcos made the pronouncement amid the country’s ongoing territorial dispute with China in the West Philippine Sea.
During his visit to China from January 3 to 5, Marcos said he will be meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping, where he will discuss different matters including “political-security issues.”
He hopes the meeting will translate to “numerous prospects and abundant opportunities” for both countries.
“The issues between our two countries are problems that do not belong between two friends such as Philippines and China,” Marcos said in his pre-departure speech at the Villamor Airbase in Pasay City.
“We will seek to resolve those issues to mutual benefit of our two countries,” he added.
More Chinese arrivals
He said he will also be pushing to open the country to more Chinese travelers through tourism and cultural cooperation in the hopes it will foster better Philippines-China relations.
“As our doors open up in the new normal, I will invite our Chinese neighbors to once again return to the Philippines as tourists, as students, investors,” Marcos said.
“Aside from sharing the wonders of our archipelago with our Chinese friends, strengthened people-to-people exchanges will allow us to bridge gaps in understanding between our two countries at every level,” he added.
The President earlier said he is against closing the borders with China despite its rising cases of Covid-19.
Harvest of agreements
Marcos said he hopes the country’s improved relations with China will translate to a “harvest of agreements and investments.”
He said at least 10 new Philippines-China bilateral agreements will be signed this week.
“We will seek to foster meaningful relations and broaden our cooperation in various areas such as agriculture, energy, infrastructure, science and technology, trade and investment, and people-to-people exchanges, amongst others,” Marcos said.
This will be on top of the agreements to be signed by the Philippine and Chinese private sector, while he is in China.
“In Beijing, we will seek to harness the potentials of our vibrant trade and investment relations as we accelerate the post-pandemic growth of our economy,” Marcos said.
China is the country’s largest trading partner, major source of official development assistance, and before the pandemic, the second largest source of tourist arrivals.
Marcos’ State Visit in China is his seventh overseas trip since he assumed the presidency.
It is also his first bilateral visit to a non-member of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).
Image credits: AP/Aaron Favila