By Gabriela Baron
President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. and Chinese President Xi Jinping met for the first time on Thursday, Nov. 17, on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Economic Leaders Meeting in Bangkok, Thailand.
During the bilateral meeting, Marcos and Xi discussed the future direction of Philippine-China relations and agreed to deepen bilateral cooperation.
Marcos stressed the need for enhanced economic and development partnership, including in the areas of agriculture, trade, infrastructure, energy, people-to-people ties, and pandemic response.
“There has been tremendous growth in exchanges and cooperation in agriculture, infrastructure, energy, and people-to-people ties between the two countries,” Marcos told Xi.
The Chief Executive also thanked Xi for China’s donation of 20,000 tons of urea fertilizers.
Meanwhile, Xi said China is open to increasing the importation of quality agricultural produce from the Philippines, highlighting the planned entry of durian from the Philippines to the Chinese market.
The two leaders also reaffirmed their support for the early conclusion of a Code of Conduct on the South China Sea to ‘help manage differences and regional tensions.’
“Our foreign policy refuses to fall into the trap of a Cold War mindset. Ours is an independent foreign policy guided by our national interest and commitment to peace,” Marcos added.
The President also said he accepted the invitation from Xi for a state visit to China early January in 2023.
