LOOK: Marcos shakes hands with Xi Jinping during Apec meet

GYEONGJU, South Korea — President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. shook hands with Chinese President Xi Jinping during the handover ceremony of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (Apec) chairmanship on Saturday.

In a Facebook post, Marcos said he congratulated Xi for China’s upcoming chairmanship of the Apec Summit in 2026.

“I congratulated President Xi Jinping as China assumes the APEC Chairmanship in 2026, and reaffirmed the Philippines’ commitment to partnership and meaningful cooperation in our region,” Marcos said in the post.

Based on video footage provided by the APEC 2025 KOREA and Yonhap News, the Chinese president was sitting when Marcos approached him for a handshake.

During a press briefing in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, last week, Marcos said he would invite the Chinese leader to come to the Philippines to finally conclude the years-long negotiations of the Code of Conduct (COC) for the South China Sea.

“I will certainly invite him and I would make all of the efforts available—all of the ways available, the means that we have available to us to show how sincere … we are that we would like for him to come to the Philippines,” Marcos told reporters.

The Chinese president last visited the Philippines in November 2018.

Moreover, Marcos said he would pursue finding ways to redefine the Philippines’ relationship with China—aside from disputes in the South China Sea.

“I really believe that the way forward is to change,” he said.

“There is a huge possibility for trade, for exchanges, for all kinds of discussions and engagements between China and [the Philippines], and I that do not include these territorial disputes,” Marcos also said.

The West Philippine Sea (WPS) is part of the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone; however, the country’s sovereignty in the natural resources-rich area is now under threat from China, which continues to ignore the 2016 international arbitral ruling that recognized Philippine ownership of WPS.

Saturday marked the last day of the Apec Leaders’ Meeting held at the Hwabaek International Convention Center in Gyeongju, South Korea.

READ: Marcos to push practical gains for Filipinos at APEC meet

During his participation at the event, Marcos highlighted the importance of strong public-private collaboration among Apec member economies.

He also encouraged them to sustain the energy and creativity of the private sector in achieving regional inclusivity and prosperity. /das/cb