Held talks with Philippine President Marcos

On the afternoon of January 4, President Xi Jinping held talks with Philippine President Marcos on a state visit to China in the Great Hall of the People.

President Xi Jinping welcomed Marcos' first visit to China after taking office as President of the Philippines. President Xi Jinping pointed out that this is your first official visit to countries outside ASEAN, and you are also the first foreign leader to receive from China this year. This fully reflects the closeness of Sino-Philippine relations, and also shows that the two sides occupy an important position in each other's diplomatic pattern. China and the Philippines are close neighbors with water. In the history of thousands of exchanges between the two countries, treating each other sincerely and watching and helping each other has always been the mainstream of Sino-Philippine relations and a valuable spiritual asset shared by the two peoples. 48 years ago, your father and the older generation of Chinese leaders had insight into the current situation, followed the general trend, and jointly made a historic decision to establish diplomatic relations between China and the Philippines. In the next half century, no matter how the international situation and the domestic political situation in the Philippines has changed, you and your family have the original intention to promote China-Philippine friendship, which is very precious. I hope your visit to China is not only a "nostalgic journey", but also a "breaking journey". China has always put the Philippines in the priority direction of peripheral diplomacy, and adheres to a strategic and overall view of Sino-Philippine relations. I am willing to maintain regular strategic communication with you, comprehensively plan the next development of bilateral relations, be a good neighbor for mutual help and mutual assistance, good relatives with each other, and good partners for win-win cooperation, bring more well-being to the two peoples, and contribute more positive energy to regional peace and stability.

On January 4, President Xi Jinping held talks with Philippine President Marcos for a state visit to China in the Great Hall of the People in Beijing. This is before the talks. Xi Jinping held a welcoming ceremony for Marcos in the North Hall of the Great Hall of the People. Photo by Yao Dawei, reporter of Xinhua News Agency
 

President Xi Jinping stressed that although China and the Philippines have different national conditions and different systems, they have similar goals, common paths and great potential for cooperation on the road of pursuing development. The two sides should strengthen exchanges and mutual learning between government departments, legislatures and political parties of the two countries, deepen the docking of development strategies, integrate and promote each other in their respective modernization process, so as to better help the development and prosperity of the two countries. The two sides have established four key areas of cooperation: agriculture, infrastructure, energy and humanities, which are the four pillars that support the comprehensive strategic cooperation between China and the Philippines. We should make great efforts to cultivate growth points and create new highlights. China is promoting rural revitalization in an all-round way and accelerating the construction of an agricultural power. It is willing to help the agricultural and rural development of the Philippines, build a brand project of agricultural technology centers, carry out cooperation in the whole industrial chain of breeding, production, processing and storage, and accelerate the cooperation of fungus and herbs. We will steadily promote cooperation in infrastructure and connectivity, implement "hard" infrastructure cooperation in key projects, expand "soft" infrastructure cooperation in telecommunications, big data, e-commerce and other areas, and drive the overall economic and social development of the Philippines. China Philippines cooperation in traditional fossil energy and clean energy has complementary advantages. China is willing to continue to properly handle maritime issues through friendly consultations with the Philippines, restart oil and gas development negotiations, promote oil and gas development cooperation in non disputed areas, and carry out green energy cooperation such as photovoltaic, wind energy, and new energy vehicles. China is willing to continue to expand the import of high-quality agricultural and fishery products from the Philippines and support Chinese enterprises to invest in the Philippines. Both sides should deepen people to people and cultural exchanges in an all-round way, expand cooperation in basic education and vocational education, and explore innovative cooperation in meteorology, aerospace and other fields. China is willing to continue to carry out vaccine research and development cooperation with the Philippines and create a new model of mutual assistance and cooperation between provinces, cities, districts and counties of the two countries by combining their respective local industrial advantages. China is taking the initiative to optimize and adjust its epidemic prevention measures, and more scientifically coordinate the epidemic prevention and control and economic and social development. It is believed that the two peoples will soon be able to resume the close exchanges and exchanges that they had before the epidemic.

President Xi Jinping stressed that China and the Philippines are both Asian developing countries, and our development is rooted in a good-neighborly and friendly surrounding environment and a win-win Asian family. China is willing to focus on cooperation and development with the Philippines and other ASEAN countries, maintain ASEAN's central position in regional cooperation, promote the construction of the "five homelands", promote the region to get rid of the shadow of the Cold War, avoid camp confrontation, and continue to become a prosperous highland. China appreciates the Philippines' support for the Global Development Initiative and the Global Security Initiative, and is willing to work with the Philippines to increase mutual support, safeguard the common interests of the two countries and developing countries, carry forward the common values of all mankind, promote the construction of a community with a shared future for mankind, and make positive contributions to improving regional and global governance.

On January 4, President Xi Jinping held talks with Philippine President Marcos for a state visit to China in the Great Hall of the People in Beijing. Photo by Yue Yuewei, reporter of Xinhua News Agency
 

President Marcos said that he was very happy to have a long-awaited visit to China. This is my first state visit to countries outside ASEAN. I hope to prove to the world through this visit that the Philippines-China relations are very good and important. Both sides attach great importance to their relations and are committed to raising Philippine-China relations to a new level. Although diplomatic relations between the Philippines and China have only been established for 48 years, the friendship between the two peoples has spanned thousands of years. I am honored to participate in the history of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the Philippines and China. Today, I will shoulder the important responsibility of continuing to promote the traditional friendship between the Philippines and China. I look forward to maintaining close communication with President Xi Jinping, strengthening cooperation in an all-round way, opening a new chapter of comprehensive strategic cooperation between the Philippines and China, better cooperating to solve the common challenges and problems of the two countries, better benefiting the two peoples, and making new contributions to promoting the region to become an important engine of the world economy. The Philippines is willing to explore its potential with China, continue to enrich the connotation of bilateral relations, and deepen cooperation in agriculture, infrastructure, energy, humanities, trade, investment, science and technology, digital economy and other fields. I believe that the many cooperation documents we witnessed and signed today will greatly contribute to the economic development of the Philippines. China is the strongest partner of the Philippines, and nothing can stop the continuation and development of Philippine-China friendship. The Philippines adheres to the one-China policy. The Philippines is willing to continue to properly handle maritime issues through friendly consultations and restart negotiations on oil and gas development with China. Thank you for your valuable help in the Philippines in the fight against the epidemic. It is expected that after the epidemic, more Chinese people will travel and study in the Philippines, and the people of the two countries will communicate more closely, laying a more solid foundation for the long-term development of bilateral relations. I am full of confidence in the development prospects of Philippine-China relations.

After the talks, the two heads of state jointly witnessed the signing of cooperation documents related to the "Belt and Road", agriculture and fishery, infrastructure, finance, customs, e-commerce, tourism and so on.

On January 4, President Xi Jinping held talks with Philippine President Marcos for a state visit to China in the Great Hall of the People in Beijing. This is before the talks. Xi Jinping held a welcoming ceremony for Marcos in the North Hall of the Great Hall of the People. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Shen Hong
 

Before the talks, President Xi Jinping held a welcoming ceremony for President Marcos in the North Hall of the Great Hall of the People.

21 salutes were fired in Tiananmen Square, salutemen lined up to pay tribute, and greeting trumpeters sounded salutes. The heads of state of the two countries appeared on the parade, and the military orchestra played the national anthems of China and the Philippines. President Marcos, accompanied by President Xi Jinping, inspected the honor guard of the Chinese People's Liberation Army and watched the split.

Peng Liyuan, the wife of President Xi Jinping, and Lisa, the wife of President Marcos, accompanied the welcoming ceremony.

That night, President Xi Jinping and his wife Peng Liyuan held a welcome banquet for President Marcos and his wife Lisa in the Golden Hall of the Great Hall of the People.

Wang Yi, He Lifeng and others attended relevant activities.

During Marcos' visit to China, the two sides will also issue the Joint Statement of the People's Republic of China and the Republic of the Philippines.