President Rodrigo Duterte came home late Friday night from his four-day state visit to China, which he said turned out to be “productive.”
At a televised news briefing in Davao City, his hometown, he cited among the key achievements of the trip the agreement of the Philippines and of China to ensure free navigation through the South China Sea so as to stimulate trade.
In resuming normal relations with China, he said he had “renewed optimism” in the outlook for trade relations.
To achieve this, he said, the two countries agreed to conduct frequent bilateral consultations to discuss “immediate issues of concern in the South China Sea.”
In his talks with President Xi Jinping, among other top Chinese officials, he said both countries pledged to settle all disputes peacefully, in accordance with international law.
Duterte also noted that the 13 deals he secured with China, most of them economic in nature, would create two million jobs for Filipinos in the next five years.
Reading from a prepared statement, Duterte made no reference to controversial statements he made about cutting ties with the United States, a longtime ally of the Philippines despite being its former colonial master.
After the brief address, Duterte allowed himself to answer a few questions from journalists.
“Mag isang daan siguro okey na,” he said.