China will stand firmly with the Philippines to jointly fight against the COVID-19 pandemic and push for economic recovery, visiting Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi said on Saturday.

Wang made the remarks during a meeting with Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte, saying that China has decided to donate a batch of COVID-19 vaccines to the Philippines for its urgent need. 

And China will help the Philippines to facilitate vaccine procurement from Chinese enterprises, the Chinese foreign minister added, emphasizing that cooperation is the best way to defeat the pandemic.

The Department of Health (DOH) of the Philippines on Saturday announced 2,058 new confirmed COVID-19 cases, bringing the country's confirmed COVID-19 cases to 498,691.

The death toll climbed to 9,884 after eight more patients died from the disease, the DOH said. A total of 460,133 patients have recovered so far.

In addition, China will also help the Philippines' economic recovery and strengthen the two countries' cooperation in the post-pandemic period.

According to Wang, China and the Philippines have successfully completed 11 joint projects with the construction of some others underway. The negotiations are goging on over some new projects.

Wang said that China firmly supports efforts made by the Philippines to safeguard national sovereignty.

China is willing to work with the Philippines to defend the fundamental interests of developing countries and to maintain international peace and stability, he added.

For his part, Duterte appreciated China's support to the country in fighting against the pandemic, especially for the timely vaccine aid, adding that the country looks forward to more cooperation with China on COVID-19 vaccine. 

He said that the Philippines is also willing to strengthen cooperation with China to push forward the economic recovery, noting that China has played an important role in promoting regional economic recovery.

After meeting with Duterte, Wang held talks with Philippine Foreign Secretary Teodoro Locsin on Saturday.

Wang hailed the close ties between the two countries, saying bilateral relations have withstood various tests, and the friendship between the two peoples have been strengthened in jointly combating the COVID-19 pandemic.

He called for further exchanges and cooperation between the two sides in 2021 with a particular focus on anti-pandemic efforts and economic recovery.

The two countries should further increase common interests while dissolving differences, strengthen cooperation, unswervingly follow the course charted by the leaders of the two countries, so that the comprehensive strategic cooperation between the two sides will bear more fruits to benefit the two countries and the two peoples, Wang said.

Noting that the two countries have completed 11 projects while 12 others are in progress or in the pipeline, and 12 more are under negotiation, Wang expected more fruitful results achieved through cooperation under the Belt and Road Initiative.

The Chinese foreign minister also assured his Philippine counterpart that China is ready to accelerate trade liberalization and facilitation and strengthen cooperation on cross-border e-commerce and finance to share development opportunities and development fruits with Philippines.

Regarding ties with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), the two sides agreed to strengthen coordination and cooperation with each other to well hold the commemorative activities with ASEAN countries to mark the 30th anniversary of the dialogue relations between China and ASEAN, upgrade China-ASEAN ties and advance consultation on the Code of Conduct (COC) in the South China Sea.

China hopes to forge a blue economy partnership and put into force the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) agreement at an early date, noted Wang.

After the meeting, Wang and Locsin witnessed the signing of cooperation documents and the ceremonial unveiling of a plaque to mark the establishment of Bank of China Manila as the Chinese currency renminbi (RMB) Clearing Bank of the Philippines.

Wang also attended the launching ceremony of the Manila Forum for China-Philippines Relations and the Award for Promoting Philippines-China Understanding via video link with former Philippine President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo.

The establishment of the forum, is expected to help the two countries strengthen mutual understanding, boost mutual trust and overcome differences.