Aquino's village jaunt aims to smooth waters
Philippine President Benigno Aquino arrived in Beijing yesterday for a five-day state visit to the country, looking to secure lucrative trade deals and alleviate tensions over territorial disputes in the South China Sea with a 'root-tracing trip' to Fujian province.
Aquino will attend a trade forum, meet with President Hu Jintao and witness the signing of business deals today before visiting the Great Wall and the Forbidden City. Tomorrow he will meet Premier Wen Jiabao and Wu Bangguo, chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress before flying to Shanghai.
The Philippine president will meet business representatives in Shanghai then fly to Xiamen , in Fujian, on Saturday, when he is expected to bring out a charm offensive by tracing his ancestral roots.
Aquino's mother, the late president Corazon Aquino, was a fourth-generation Filipino-Chinese descended from Xu Shangzhi, also known as Co Yu Hwan, an immigrant from Hongjian village who went to the Philippines in 1861.
While visiting the village in 1988, Corazon Aquino planted an araucaria evergreen tree. A park that includes a Sino-Philippines Friendship Memorial Hall dedicated to her memory is being built by villagers on the site surrounding the tree.
Analysts said the root-tracing trip was intended to boost sentiment for the visit, amid territorial disputes and frustration by Hong Kong residents over the Philippines' handling of last year's deadly hostage stand-off.
'The Philippine president is trying to show goodwill by stressing that both countries have historic and cultural ties that can be traced back for hundreds of years,' said Professor Zhang Xuegang with the China Institutes of Contemporary International Relations. 'This is an attempt to enhance mutual trust.'
Aquino will plant another tree during his visit and honour his ancestors at the clan temple.
'We are excited that Benigno Aquino will come to visit us and treasure his ancestral roots,' said village head Xu Bingsheng. He added that the villagers would have a casual chat with Aquino, but would not bring up the subject of the South China Sea.
The Philippine government said the state visit highlighted the country's diplomatic affairs, with the expectation that both sides would sign commitments to boost bilateral trade to US$50 billion by 2016.
Aquino will discuss with Chinese officials the controversial Chinese-funded Northrail project in Manila, which was made the centerpiece of Hu's state visit there in 2005, but was later halted by charges of overpricing and illegality.
'China's economic growth provides impetus to the Philippines' economic development, especially after Japan was hit by the massive earthquake in March and the US is still facing a debt crisis,' Zhang said.
The South China Sea disputes will be discussed, but both China and the Philippines have stressed that they will not let this affect mutual ties.
