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Vice Foreign Minister Sun Weidong Meets with Foreign Secretary of the Philippines Enrique Manalo

2023-03-23 23:42

On March 23, 2023, Vice Foreign Minister Sun Weidong met with Secretary of Foreign Affairs of the Philippines Enrique A. Manalo in Manila on the sidelines of the 23rd China-Philippines Foreign Ministry Consultations (FMC) and the 7th Meeting of the China-Philippines Bilateral Consultation Mechanism on the South China Sea.

Sun noted that China and the Philippines are close neighbors across the sea and ensuring sound and steady development of China-Philippines relations is a common aspiration of the two peoples and serves the shared interests of the two countries. As the international and regional situation undergoes profound and complex changes, the two sides need to implement the important strategic consensus that President Xi Jinping reached with President Marcos Jr., deepen political mutual trust, and focus on practical cooperation. The two sides should continue to put the South China Sea issue at a proper place in bilateral relations, stay committed to properly tackling differences through friendly consultations and jointly uphold the overall China-Philippines relations and stability of the region.

Manalo extended congratulations on the success of the annual NPC and CPPCC sessions in China and expected China to achieve greater development. He underscored that the Philippines regards China as an important partner and is happy about the outcomes of President Marcos Jr.'s visit to China in January. He expressed hope that the consultations will promote the implementation of more outcomes of the visit. The South China Sea issue should not dominate China-Philippines relations. The Philippines stands ready to communicate and coordinate closely with China to properly manage disputes and sustain the sound momentum of growth in the bilateral ties.

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