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Since both China and the Philippines are at a critical moment for development, Xi stressed that the two countries share broad prospects for cooperation.
As Chinese President Xi Jinping and his Philippine counterpart Rodrigo Duterte exchanged congratulatory messages Tuesday on the 45th anniversary of diplomatic ties, both leaders restated their intent to strengthen bilateral cooperation.
“I attach great importance to the development of China-Philippines ties," Xi underlined, adding that he is willing to work with Duterte to continuously lift their countries' relationship of comprehensive strategic cooperation to new levels.
The Chinese government refers to the relationship between the two countries as upgraded to “comprehensive strategic cooperation.” Chinese and Filipino officials say they will continue to cooperate on the One Belt, One Road initiative.
Since both China and the Philippines are at a critical moment for development, Xi stressed that the two countries share broad prospects for cooperation.
A message that Duterte echoed, adding that it is vital for the Philippines and China to enhance partnership amid the unprecedented security challenges.
This comes as the Philippines government announced last week that will extend the military pact with the United States and suspend the termination it had stated back in February 2020, which had a 180-day legal effect.
The VFA was signed in 1999 between the two countries allowing temporary entry of U.S. troops to the Philippines for joint training exercises with Filipino forces.
The first announcement came as China-Philippines relations have experienced a turnaround since 2016 when Duterte verbally agreed to allow both nations access to fishing areas in each other’s controlled waters of the South China sea, as they have adhered to the Code of Conduct (COC) in the disputed area.
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