China’s Xi to hold meetings with Duterte, Sotto, Arroyo, witness signing of agreements

China’s President Xi Jinping will hold meetings with top Philippine government officials led by President Rodrigo Duterte and witness the signing of agreements during his two-day inaugural state visit to the Philippines.

Xi will arrive in Manila shortly before Tuesday noon, his last stop in a three-nation tour that has taken him to Papua New Guinea for the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation summit and Brunei, according to the media advisory released by Malacañang on Monday.

On Tuesday afternoon, Xi will lay a wreath at the monument of Dr. Jose Rizal at the Rizal Park in Manila. Rizal traced his roots to the southern Chinese province of Fujian, where Xi once served as governor.

Xi will then proceed to Malacañan Palace for the welcome ceremony, meeting with Duterte and several of his Cabinet officials and the signing ceremony on agreements between the two countries.

The Philippines is expected to sign several agreements with China during Xi’s visit, the Department of Finance said last month.

The agreements cover loan and guarantee accords, economic and technical cooperation, support for the feasibility studies on the Philippines’ infrastructure projects, and promoting cooperation on key projects in Mindanao under the ambitious “Build, Build, Build” program.

An exploration deal on the disputed areas in the South China Sea is also being considered for signing, according to Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez III on Sunday.

Duterte and Xi will also have a joint press conference, restricted meeting and an exchange of gifts before the state banquet in honor of Xi, who would be the first Chinese head of state in 13 years to conduct a state visit to the Philippines since Hu Jintao in April 2005.

Courtesy call on Xi

On Wednesday, Senate President Vicente Sotto III and Speaker Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo will pay a courtesy call on Xi at a posh hotel in Taguig City.

Xi will then have a photo opportunity with the leaders of the Filipino-Chinese community. He will fly back to Beijing after the event.

In preparation for Xi’s visit, the Manila City government announced the cancellation of classes and work in city government offices.

Work in all Manila courts, including the Supreme Court and the Court of Appeals, will also be suspended on Tuesday.

Around 5,500 policemen will be deployed for Xi’s visit and road closures will be implemented by the Manila Police District beginning at 6 a.m. Tuesday in connection with Xi’s activities in the country’s capital.

Xi’s visit comes amid concerns about China’s continued activities in the disputed South China Sea, apparent delays in the release of Chinese loans and investment pledges and after a warning from United States Vice President Mike Pence that China is using "debt diplomacy" in order to expand its influence worldwide.

Still, the Palace said Duterte and the Filipino nation are looking forward to Xi’s state visit.

Xi last visited the Philippines in 2015 when he participated in the APEC summit hosted by then-President Benigno Aquino III, who took to China to court over its excessive claims in the South China Sea.

Aquino’s successor, Duterte, however chose to seek stronger economic and trade ties with China, the world’s second biggest economy, instead of flaunting Manila’s victory over Beijing in the United Nations-backed Permanent Court of Arbitration in July 2016, which declared as illegal China's claim over nearly the entire South China Sea.

The President, however, promised to raise the ruling with China during his term which ends in June 2022.

“We consider our country’s long-lasting friendship with China and the presence of Chinese and Chinese-Filipinos in the country as integral parts of our own growth and progress,” presidential spokesperson Salvador Panelo said in a statement.

“The Chinese leader’s visit to the Philippines marks an opportunity to further strengthen and sustain our bilateral relations with the foreign country, which surged forward under the visionary leadership of President Duterte.”

Panelo said China is now considered a top trading partner of the Philippines, a leading export market for the Philippines, and one of the largest tourist origins to the Philippines.

“Owing to President Duterte’s cautious, pragmatic and diplomatic yet independent foreign policy, we anticipate more opportunities to forge better cooperation and friendship with China,” he said. — BM, GMA News