BEIJING: Relations between China and the Philippines have entered a “golden period of fast development”, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said on Thursday, touting growth in trade and their efforts to settle disputes in the South China Sea.
Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte has opted to court China for its business and investment and avoid the rows over maritime sovereignty that dogged his predecessors.
Duterte has faced criticism at home for being what some people see as too soft on China over the long-running territorial dispute, but he considers his approach to be pragmatic and says challenging China risks triggering war.
Wang, speaking to reporters after meeting Philippine Foreign Minister Alan Peter Cayetano in Beijing, said the two countries had signed 22 cooperation agreements in less than six months and China had become the Philippines’ biggest trading partner for the first time.
“Our two countries have set up a bilateral consultation mechanism on the South China Sea issue and also a mechanism for cooperation between the coast guards,” Wang said.
“If anyone wants to reverse the current progress it will harm the interests of the Philippine people and that is not what we would like to see,” he said. — Reuters
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