‘Trust deficit’ remains in PH-China ties: envoy

FILE: Tan Qingsheng, Chinese embassy in Manila’s deputy chief of mission (Photo: Chinese embassy in Manila via PNA)

MANILA– Mistrust towards China remains a challenge in the developing Philippine-China relations, a ranking Chinese diplomat said on Friday.

In a speech during the Belt and Road Philippine-China Forum in Pasay City, Deputy Chief of Mission Tan Qingsheng of the Chinese embassy in Manila underscored that even “closest friends” can still have differences and arguments but “trust deficit” remains in the two states.

To remove this mistrust, he asked for the media’s help in painting “a complete picture of the other country and contribute positively to the promotion of understanding and trust between our two countries.”

“The secret of friendship or love is to put our differences at a suitable place without undermining the overall relations,” he said.

Meanwhile, Communications Secretary Martin Andanar is optimistic this trust issue with China will be dispelled over time.

Asked about government efforts to help remove doubts in the growing China-Philippines ties, Andanar said both countries strive to increase their engagement both bilaterally and multilaterally.

“We have bilateral relations and communications and we also have multilateral relations and communications with the ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) and we all want to move forward in our communications trend having good cooperation between our country and ASEAN and China,” he said.

In a July 19 survey by the Social Weather Stations (SWS), trust in China among Filipinos fell to a net -24 or poor.

The polling firm found that 51 percent of adult Filipinos has little trust, 21 percent were undecided while 27 percent has much trust in China, a net trust rating of -24, classified by the SWS as poor.