MANILA — President Rodrigo Duterte arrived in Beijing on Wednesday night to attend the 2nd Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation from April 25 to 27 at the invitation of Chinese President Xi Jinping.
Duterte arrived at the Beijing International Airport at 7:40 pm amid cold, rainy weather.
This is Duterte’s fourth trip to China since he assumed the presidency in 2016.
He was received by Chinese Ambassador to the Philippines Zhao Jianhua and Philippine Ambassador to China Jose Santiago Sta. Romana.
In an interview with reporters in Beijing, Sta. Romana emphasized the importance of Duterte’s participation in the forum as part of efforts to enhance economic development.
“It’s a chance for the Philippines, for President Duterte to participate in this broad platform for economic development and regional cooperation,” Sta. Romana said.
“It’s also an opportunity for the Philippines to seek business, economic opportunities, new outlets for — markets for our exports, new sources of foreign investment,” he added.
Duterte’s visit to China comes amid diplomatic protests filed by his administration against China for their continued activity in the disputed West Philippine Sea (South China Sea).
Hundreds of Chinese vessels suspected to be maritime militia have been reported circling the Philippine-occupied Pag-asa Island since January this year.
Sta. Romana, however, expressed hope that Duterte’s visit would eventually allow the Philippines and China to resolve the issue “through diplomatic negotiations.”
“Although it was a very contentious issue, there were differences of views, we have different positions on the Chinese. Both sides agreed to resolve this issue through diplomatic negotiations,” Sta. Romana said.
“The basic approach is, to discuss the disputes but to manage it so that they will not become — they will not turn into a crisis and also to manage it so that they will not be an obstacle to the development of areas of cooperation,” he added.
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