Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte to head to Beijing under pressure to take tough line on South China Sea
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Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte will visit China next week, Beijing announced on Friday, after Duterte threatened to cancel talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping if he could not discuss South China Sea disputes.
In a brief statement, the Chinese foreign ministry said Duterte would visit China for five days from August 28 at the invitation of Xi.
The ministry did not say what the two leaders would discuss, but observers said joint oil and gas exploration and infrastructure would be on the agenda to ease domestic pressure on Duterte to take tougher action against Beijing over the South China Sea.
Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang said Duterte would join Xi at the opening ceremonies of the FIBA Basketball World Cup in Beijing on August 30, and then go to Guangzhou to watch a basketball game with Vice-President Wang Qishan on August 31.
He said the two nations would discuss infrastructure projects, but added that China’s stance on the arbitration ruling on South China Sea remained unchanged.
Duterte had also planned to visit Fujian province to inaugurate a school building in honour of his mother. But Philippine foreign affairs assistant secretary Meynardo Montealegre said the plan was called off because “it’s not appropriate at this time”, the Philippine Daily Inquirer reported.