By Su Xiaohui

China-Philippines Relations Set Sail Again

By Su Xiaohui

About the author: Su Xiaohui is a deputy director at the China Institute of International Studies’ Department of Global Strategy.

On Oct. 18, at the invitation of Chinese President Xi Jinping, President Rodrigo Duterte of the Republic of the Philippines began his four-day state visit to China.This visit did not come easy. During the administration of former Philippine President Benigno Aquino III, the Philippines refused to engage in dialogue with China on relevant disputes and unilaterally initiated the South China Sea arbitration, disregarding China’s strong opposition. The Aquino government made the South China Sea dispute an issue between the two states, disrupting normal bilateral exchanges, including high-level visits, resulting in a regression in China-Philippines relations.

Upon assuming presidency, Duterte began to adjust the foreign policy of the Philippines. On the South China Sea, he has been cautious and restrained, expressing his hope for negotiation rather than confrontation. Meanwhile, the Philippines has sent signals of friendship with China. Duterte talked about China in a positive tone on different occasions and expressed his willingness to strengthen cooperation with China. In August this year, Duterte sent former President Fidel Ramos, who has maintained good terms with China, as his special envoy to contact the Chinese side, preparing for the restoration of bilateral relations. Duterte’s state visit to China is his first visit to a non-ASEAN country since he took office, an indication that the Philippine government has placed China in an important diplomatic position and decided to rebuild friendship with China.

This change in approach from the Philippines is based on its judgment of its own development, the orientation of China’s growth and the situation of the region and the world at large.

The Philippines admires China’s achievements of development. Despite the complexity and uncertainty of global economy, China has maintained vigorous development. Its comprehensive national power and international influence are both on the rise and receiving global attention. No country in the world can possibly contain China’s progress. It’s the policy objective of the Philippines to learn from China’s development experience.

From the perspective of the Philippines, China’s development represents an opportunity rather than a challenge for the Philippines. Duterte hopes that economic and trade relations with China will drive the economic development of his own country. He hopes that China will help the Philippines in infrastructure construction to improve people’s lives and narrow the gap between rich and poor. It has also been noted that China has in recent years attached great importance to its neighborhood diplomacy, with ASEAN being a priority, leading to positive development in China-ASEAN relations. Guided by the policy of amity, sincerity, mutual benefit and inclusiveness in developing relations in the region, China has maintained harmonious relations with its neighbors. Even on issues of territorial sovereignty disputes, China has advocated peaceful settlement.There’s no reason for the Philippines to see China as a threat.

The Philippines has become more sober in dealing with disputes. The Philippines has come to the understanding that on the South China Sea dispute, it will not work to challenge China’s bottom line. Tensions in the South China Sea are not conducive to the national interest of the Philippines. Therefore, the Philippines should not continue to allow its relations with China to be negatively impacted by the South China Sea dispute.

China has never closed the door of dialogue with the Philippines. China cherishes its traditional friendship with the Philippines and is ready to consolidate friendship between the two peoples. China and the Philippines are fully capable of promoting bilateral cooperation. They can also carry out winwin cooperation in multilateral mechanisms such as the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank. When President Duterte took office, China congratulated him in a sincere manner, communicating goodwill. In addition, China attached great importance to Duterte’s visit. It is ready to exercise hospitality towards his administration to promote common understanding and cooperation between the two countries.

Duterte has made a wise decision to cross the seas and hurdles to make this visit. After several years of difficult bilateral relations, China and the Philippines are again working their bilateral relations toward the goal of mutually beneficial cooperation. This visit is historic, marking a new opportunity to bring China-Philippines ties back to the track of sound development.