China-Philippines relations: Marcos looks to Beijing visit, expanding ties after meeting Xi Jinping on Apec sidelines

Name: China provides US$350 million in funding for bridge in southern Philippines
Uploaded: 2022-11-18T05:00:14.000Z
Duration: 1 min 20 s
Description: China provides US$350 million in funding for bridge in southern Philippines

China’s president told newly elected Philippine counterpart their two countries should resolve their maritime disputes through consultation

Marcos described ‘a very pleasant exchange’ and said two leaders spoke about plans for his state visit to China in early January: Philippines statement

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Chinese President Xi Jinping meets
Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jnr in Bangkok, Thailand, on November 17. The leaders met in person for the first time on the sidelines of this year’s Apec Summit. Photo: Xinhua

Liu Zhenin BeijingandAmber Wangin Beijing

Published: 1:00pm, 18 Nov 2022Updated: 4:23pm, 18 Nov 2022

The leaders of China and the Philippines have vowed to expand bilateral ties between the two nations, with Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos saying he looks forward to a state visit to China.

A Chinese statement released following talks on Thursday between Marcos and Chinese President Xi Jinping said the Philippine leader had pledged that his nation would not “choose sides” in diplomacy and would jointly “resist unilateralism and bullying acts”.

Statements from the Philippine side did not include those remarks, but said Marcos described the meeting as “a very pleasant exchange” adding that the two leaders spoke about plans for his state visit to China in early January.

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China provides US$350 million in funding for bridge in southern Philippines

The two leaders discussed strengthening and expanding the relationship between the two countries, particularly in agriculture, energy, infrastructure and people-to-people connections, the Philippine statement said.

The leaders met in person on the sidelines of this year’s Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (Apec) Summit in Bangkok on Thursday afternoon, only a few days after United States President Joe Biden visited the region to strengthen America’s partnership with Asean, and two months after Biden’s bilateral meeting with Marcos on the sidelines of a UN General Assembly meeting in New York.

As one of the major rival claimants over the South China Sea, a key member of Asean and an ally of the United States, the Philippines is critical to both Washington’s Indo-Pacific Strategy and Beijing’s regional strategic and geopolitical plans.

Since Marcos came into office in June, Xi has repeatedly expressed a willingness to strengthen ties, and his hope that the Philippines will “maintain an independent foreign policy”, which means reducing the influence of the US.

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