Phillippines President Marcos Jr. visits China to strengthen bilateral ties

Asia-Pacific, News January 5, 2023 , by IRIA No Comments

President of the Philippines Ferdinand Marcos Jr. arrived in Beijing on January 3, 2023. During his first official three-day visit to China after becoming the president.

Marcos Jr. met with the Chinese President Xi Jinping to discuss political-security issues between the Philippines and China.

According to the official statement released by the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the two leaders underscored the importance of maintaining the good momentum of the bilateral relations and agreed to further strengthen the China-Philippines relationship of Comprehensive Strategic Cooperation under the new circumstances, as close neighbors, kin, and partners that help and understand each other towards win-win results through mutually beneficial cooperation, to bring the bilateral relations to new heights.

During the bilateral meeting between President Xi and President Marcos, Beijing indicated its willingness to restart discussions on joint oil and gas exploration, as the two sides remain at odds over the South China Sea issue.

According to the translated version of President Xi’s statement released by China’s Foreign Ministry, “China is willing to continue to work with the Philippines to properly deal with maritime issues in a friendly and consultative manner, restart negotiations on oil and gas development, promote cooperation on oil and gas development in non-disputed areas, and develop cooperation on green energy such as photovoltaic, wind energy and new-energy vehicles.”

Marcos welcomed the resumption of oil and gas exploration talks in the South China Sea, saying that “I really hope to be able to announce that we are continuing negotiations and that we hope that these negotiations will bear fruit.”

^{Philippines’ President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. and First Lady Liza Araneta Marcos are photographed with China President Xi Jinping and his wife Peng Li Yuan during a welcoming ceremony at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, China on January 4, 2023. (Image Credit: Office of the Press Secretary/via Reuters)}

Past Philippine governments also considered joint oil and gas exploration deals with China to find common ground, however, both sides failed to achieve substantial success on the matter. Former president Rodrigo Duterte’s administration terminated talks with Beijing due to “constitutional limitations” and issues regarding sovereignty.

China-Philippines economic cooperation

Before meeting Xi, Marcos held talks with Chinese Premier Li Keqiang and Chairman of China’s National People’s Congress Standing Committee Li Zhanshu. During his meeting with Li Keqiang, Marcos emphasized the importance of forging partnerships, to build economies and transform societies amid a raft of challenges.

Marcos added that Manila and Beijing now have a grand opportunity not only to revitalize their relationship but also to build and foster even greater modes of cooperation.

*^{A Chinese delegation led by President Xi Jinping hosts Philippines President Marcos Jr. in Beijing, China. (Image Credit: CGTN)}*

Over the past six years, China-Philippine trade has doubled its volume, surpassing $82 billion in 2021. China remained the Philippines’ largest trading partner for six consecutive years. Before the COVID-19 pandemic, China was the Philippines’ second largest source of tourism income, an industry that contributed 12.7 percent to the Philippine economy in 2018. A total of 1.74 million Chinese tourists visited the Philippines in 2019, an increase of 38.58 percent from 2018.

South China Sea

The Philippine government said last week that during President’s visit to Beijing, the two sides would also sign a communication agreement to “avoid miscalculation and miscommunication in the West Philippine Sea”, referring to the part of the South China Sea that it claims.

The Philippines ordered its military to boost its presence in the contested waters after reports that China had started reclaiming several unoccupied land features around the Spratly Islands.