PBBM, Premier Li vow to deepen PH-China ties

Garafil said Marcos and Li agreed that the two nations’ improving relationship “far outweighs” their differences. (File photo: Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office/Flickr, CC BY 2.0)

MANILA – President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. and Chinese Premier Li Keqiang have pledged to further improve the relations between the Philippines and China, Malacañang said on Saturday.

The two made the commitment during a brief conversation on the sidelines of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Plus Three Summit in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, the Office of the Press Secretary Officer-in-Charge Undersecretary Cheloy Garafil said.

Garafil said Marcos and Li agreed that the two nations’ improving relationship “far outweighs” their differences.

“I absolutely agree,” Marcos said, backing the Chinese’ leader’s remark that Manila and Beijing should sustain the “continued growth” in their relations.

Marcos also thanked Li for expressing admiration for his late father and namesake who took the courage to visit China in 1975, despite the status of its relations with the Philippines then.

“I thank you for remembering my father and his initiative to come to China and it was he after all who made Philippines and China family,” Marcos told Li.

“It was something very important to us… He has been proven right because the partnership with China has been a great benefit to both our countries,” he added.

Marcos accepted Chinese President Xi Jinping’s invitation to embark on a state visit to China in the first week of January 2023.

The plan to further expand the Philippines’ partnerships with China will be among the agenda of Marcos’ upcoming visit.

“So I look forward to discussing all of these when I come to visit in January,” Marcos said.

On Wednesday, Marcos bared his plan to raise the South China Sea (SCS) issue with Xi, when he is given the chance to meet his counterpart.

Li, on the other hand, hoped for close collaboration with the Philippines and other ASEAN member-state to ensure peace and stability in the SCS by adhering to the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea and international laws, including the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea.

“And also let’s work together for successful meetings,” Li said, stressing that he also looks forward to working with the Philippines in upholding the unity and cooperation between China and ASEAN.