On July 21, 2009, Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi met with his Philippine counterpart Alberto Romulo in Phuket, southern Thailand, ahead of the Foreign Ministers' Meeting of the ASEAN Regional Forum.

During the meeting, Yang said since the two countries established their strategic cooperative relations that aim at peace and development, bilateral ties have achieved major progress, pointing to close high-level exchanges and steadily progressing trade cooperation. The Chinese government encourages and supports competent enterprises to invest in the Philippines, and it is also ready to promote bilateral cooperation in areas such as agriculture and new energy, said Yang. The year 2010 marks the 35th anniversary of establishment of diplomatic relations between the two counties. China is ready to cooperate closely with the Philippines to well design and implement events to mark the 35th anniversary of diplomatic ties and push the friendly relations between the two countries to a new level, said the Chinese Foreign Minister.

Romulo said bilateral relations are in the golden period of development with frequent exchange of visits at high and other levels and smooth development of friendly cooperation in all areas. The Philippines is ready to work with China to earnestly implement the consensus reached by the two heads of state and continuously push forward bilateral ties.

Both sides also exchanged views on international and regional issues of common concern.

Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi arrived in Phuket, Thailand, on the same day to attend the Foreign Ministers' Meeting of China-ASEAN (10+1), the Foreign Ministers' Meeting of the ASEAN-China, Japan and ROK (10+3), the 16th Foreign Ministers' Meeting of the ASEAN Regional Forum and the unofficial consultation of Foreign Ministers of East Asia Summit.