BEIJING: China and the Philippines have agreed to expand their contributions to regional peace and stability and bring more benefits to the people of both countries.
The two nations also vowed to strengthen pragmatic cooperation in agriculture, infrastructure, energy and people-to-people exchanges when President Xi Jinping and Philippine President Ferdinand Romualdez Marcos Jr held talks in Beijing on Wednesday.
Xi said both sides had agreed to restart consultation on oil and gas exploration and had pledged to properly deal with maritime issues through friendly talks.
Marcos was on a state visit to China, the first non-ASEAN country Marcos has visited as president. During their talks, Xi said that Marcos is the first foreign leader China has hosted this year, which speaks volumes for close bilateral relations. Before the talks, Xi held a grand welcoming ceremony for Marcos in the Great Hall of the People.
Xi hailed the historic decision made by Marcos’ father and Chinese leaders 48 years ago to establish bilateral diplomatic relations. He also commended the Marcos family for remaining committed to promoting bilateral friendship, despite changes in the international landscape and the Philippines’ domestic political situation.
Beijing has always made Manila a priority in its regional diplomacy and views bilateral ties from a strategic and overall perspective, he said.
Xi said he is willing to maintain frequent strategic dialogue with Marcos to plan future steps for bilateral relations and make the two nations good neighbors, relatives and partners that understand and help each other and work together for win-win outcomes. Xi called on the two countries to further align development strategies, help each other’s modernization process and contribute to each country’s development and prosperity. China, in its push toward rural vitalization and for a stronger agricultural sector, is willing to help with the agricultural and rural development of the Philippines and cooperate in the development of seeding, production, processing and storage, Xi said.
He called for steps toward cooperation on infrastructure and connectivity, saying that collaboration on key infrastructure projects must be implemented.
–The Daily Mail-China Daily news exchange item
