MANILA, Philippines—Chinese Ambassador to the Philippines Liu Jianchao has expressed confidence President Aquino’s state visit to Beijing “would mark a new beginning of refreshed endeavor to bring China-Philippines relations to a new high.”
Liu assured the President on Monday, of “warm and candid discussions with the Chinese leadership on all issues of common interests, trying to explore more ways for sustained and strengthened cooperation in such fields as trade, investment, media, culture and tourism.”
“Prospects are broad and potentials are immense,” said Liu in an August 29 letter to Aquino.
According to Liu, “while the Philippine economy is taking off, China is ready to add strength to its wings.”
The envoy expressed hope the President’s trip “would be another magic feather making the wings more powerful.”
“Really special is the arrangement that Your Excellency will be present at three economic and trade forums all the way through your trip in China, respectively in Beijing, Shanghai and Xiamen. This is really unprecedented for a state visit to my country,” said Liu.
Liu disclosed that at the last leg of Aquino’s state visit, “you will follow your mother’s footsteps imprinted 23 years ago, tracing your Chinese roots and meeting with your town fellows in Hongjian Village near Xiamen.”
“The village was where Her Excellency (the late President Corazon C. Aquino) struck a chord with the villagers by saying, ‘I am not only the President of the Philippines, but also the daughter of Hongjian.’ You will prove to be another firm champion and great builder of China-Philippines friendship,” said Liu.
Liu noted that “since the establishment of diplomatic ties between our two countries 36 years ago, we embarked on a journey to a deepened amity and enriched cooperation through the venues of diplomacy, trade, investment and people-to-people interactions.”
“We are now more than proud to recognize the fact that China-Philippines strategic and cooperative relationship is dynamic and promising, and we want to make this visit an even stronger one. Your visit would make this message heard in a convincing way to our two peoples,” he added.
Last week, Liu told a news conference at the Chinese Embassy in Makati City he was “sure (the Spratlys conflict) would be discussed” during the President’s trip to China.
“The issue has been there for decades…We can’t expect it to be settled just by this trip,” he said.
At the same time, Liu welcomed Manila’s call for a joint exploration of the disputed areas in the Spratly group of islands in the West Philippine Sea (South China Sea).
“That would be a very, very nice idea if we can do that,” he said.
However, Liu said “both sides should be patient so that the (dispute) will not affect their relations.”
Manila earlier proposed the transformation of the disputed features of the West Philippine Sea from an area of dispute to a Zone of Peace, Freedom, Friendship and Cooperation.
According to Liu, Philippines-China ties have “really gone through some tests in the past year.”
But the “past experience taught us we can find good solutions to all these crises, all these issues in a way that that will not affect our relations,” he said.
Aside from the Philippines, the diplomat claimed that they were “ready to have joint exploration (agreements) with other claimant countries in the disputed areas.”
“We hope this would materialize as soon as possible,” said Liu.
Liu stressed the need to “reach a consensus” with other Spratly claimant countries.
“We need to have further dialogue and consultations on how to go about it,” he said.
Liu recalled that as early as the mid-1980s, Beijing had brought up the idea to Manila.
“Since then, we’ve been working with the other claimant countries on the possibility of such joint exploration,” said Liu.
He expressed “hope this will materialize as soon as possible.”
“We believe this is the best way for claimant countries to have an opportunity for cooperation…While engaging in any kind of conflict, different countries have different views and priorities. We hope dialogue will go on. I can’t give you a definite date (for the claimants) to reach an agreement, but we hope that we can really find a strategy that we can agree upon so we can have joint exploration (of the contested waters),” said Liu.
Liu reiterated that the Spratlys dispute should be “settled in a way that can bring prosperity, peace and stability” in the region.
Asked about the Philippine government’s proposal to bring the issue to the International Tribunal on the Law of the Sea, Liu said “(the President and his Chinese counterpart Hu Jintao) will discuss the issue in good faith, and will not affect the general relations” between Manila and Beijing.