For two days, China’s President Xi Jinping experienced Filipino hospitality in Manila where he came to celebrate with President Duterte the “rainbow after the rain” (the “rain” being decades of mistrust and bitter maritime disputes between the two countries). His trip marks the first state visit to the Philippines by a Chinese president in 13 years.
If it reflects warmer ties, Xi’s trip was made even more significant by the collapse of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit that ended without a joint statement due to the US-China trade war. US Vice President Mike Pence attacked China at the summit, calling on Apec leaders to avoid loans that will leave them indebted to Beijing. Pence promised Apec leaders that America would offer a better alternative—one that wouldn’t be a “constricting belt or one-way road.”
Budget Secretary Benjamin E. Diokno said Pence’s statements don’t apply to Duterte’s administration, which has a “rigorous process” to evaluate funding from Beijing. He added: “We must take his statement with a grain of salt—of course the US would not want the whole world to be dependent on China.”
In an article published by Philippine newspapers, Xi described how the two countries are historically intertwined: “Over 600 years ago, Chinese navigator Zheng He made multiple visits to the Manila Bay, [the] Visayas and Sulu on his seven overseas voyages seeking friendship and cooperation. The King of Sulu also made a goodwill visit to China, bringing with him good wishes to the Chinese people and leaving behind touching stories of China-Philippine friendship. Many born on the southeast coast of China sailed across the sea to settle down in the Philippines and have since lived in harmony with the local community. The ancestors of Jose Rizal, national hero and founding father of the Philippines, came from Jinjiang of China’s Fujian province. The famed Chinese General Ye Fei, who fought for the founding of New China, was born in Quezon of the Philippines. For both our peoples, these are proud names to remember.”
Xi added: “Since President Duterte took office, China and the Philippines have reengaged in dialogue and consultation for the proper handling of the South China Sea issue. Our relations have now seen a rainbow after the rain. In just a little more than two years, China has become the Philippines’s largest trading partner, largest export market and largest source of imports, and the second-largest source of tourists.”
These warm words notwithstanding, many Filipinos are not rushing to China’s embrace, based on a September Social Weather Stations poll released past midnight on Tuesday, just hours before the arrival of the Chinese president. China recorded a “poor” -16 net trust rating among Filipinos in the SWS survey conducted from September 15 to 23—far from the “very good” + 59 net rating of the United States, and the moderate +28 net rating of Japan.
Malacañang, however, questioned the timing and the findings of the SWS survey. Presidential Spokesman and Chief Presidential Counsel Salvador S. Panelo said in a statement that he found the release of the SWS survey on the morning of the Chinese president’s state visit “suspect.”
President Xi’s state visit was indeed colorful and successful, based on the things accomplished during his two-day stay. For example, the Philippines and China signed 29 deals, highlighting the growing cooperation between the two countries under President Duterte. The only question unanswered is how to sustain the long-term growth of Philippine-China relations when nobody wants to acknowledge the elephant in the room.
Image credits: Jimbo Albano