Philippine President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. arrived in Beijing
on Tuesday evening and began his three-day visit to China at the
invitation of President Xi Jinping. “I will be opening a new chapter in
our Comprehensive Strategic Cooperation with China,” Marcos said
in his departure statement, adding that he looked forward to “shifting
the trajectory of our relations to a higher gear.” On Friday, a Chinese
Foreign Ministry spokesperson anticipated
the relations between the two countries would “usher in a new ‘golden
age’” after the visit. The two sides will discuss a wide range of issues
including economic cooperation and political and security issues.
The trip is Marcos’s first visit to a country out of ASEAN since he won the presidential election
in May. It is also his first foreign visit in 2023, and Marcos is the
first foreign state leader to visit China this year. President Marcos
will hold talks with President Xi today, less than two months after
their meeting in Thailand in November. He will also meet with
Premier Li Keqiang and the chairman of the National People's Congress
Standing Committee Li Zhanshu, both of whom will retire in two months.
China is the largest trade partner
of the Philippines, accounting for more than 20% of the island state’s
imports. However, the territorial dispute in the South China Sea is the
biggest thorn in the China-Philippines relationship. The risks between
China and the Philippines are particularly stark among the four
countries that have territorial disputes with China in these waters. For
one thing, the Philippines is the only U.S. treaty ally. For another,
Manila is the most aggressive in seeking international arbitration of
these disputes. But the new president’s trip is expected to provide a
stabilizer for the issue as the two countries have prepared to establish direct communication over the South China Sea during Marcos’s visit.
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