Marcos Jr. visits China to boost economic ties, discusses West PH Sea

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. made his first bilateral visit to China to strengthen economic ties and cooperation, aiming to discuss political-security issues and the West Philippine Sea.

During his three-day state visit, discussions focused on expanding collaboration in agriculture, energy, infrastructure, science and technology, trade, and investment.

President Marcos Jr. reported productive bilateral meetings with Chinese President Xi Jinping, discussing soft infrastructure, climate change, renewable energy, people-to-people ties, and agricultural cooperation.

The Philippines signed 14 bilateral agreements with China to boost post-pandemic economic growth, securing around $22 billion worth of investment pledges.

President Marcos Jr. expects tension in the West Philippine Sea to ease and incidents of harassment to decrease following his meeting with President Xi Jinping.

Marcos proposed strengthening a bilateral team to discuss issues in the West Philippine Sea, suggesting direct access to both presidents for quicker decision-making to reduce problems.

The two leaders also talked about the negotiations on the joint oil and gas explorations in the resource-rich region, with Marcos expressing hope that the negotiations would "bear fruit."

Marcos capped off the state visit by noting how he and Xi "took note of the growing maturity of this bilateral relationship," which allows both sides to manage differences on the West Philippine Sea so as to not allow it to hinder the rest of our fruitful engagements and multi-faceted cooperation.

He emphasized to President Xi how his administration intends to pursue an independent foreign policy, willing to cooperate whenever possible in the pursuit of regional peace and both countries' national interest.