Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi said in Manila on Wednesday that China is willing to deepen pragmatic cooperation with the Philippines to usher in a new "golden age" in bilateral ties.

During his visit to the Philippines, Wang met with Philippine President Ferdinand Romualdez Marcos, who was sworn in last Thursday, and other officials.

Wang is on an Asia tour, which takes him to Thailand, the Philippines, Indonesia and Malaysia. He co-chaired the Lancang-Mekong Cooperation Foreign Ministers' Meeting on Monday in Myanmar.

China ready to work with the new Philippine administration

China firmly supports governance of the new Philippine administration, and is willing to cooperate with the Philippine side in the four key areas of agriculture, infrastructure, energy, and humanities, Wang said when meeting with the Philippine president.

Wang Yi conveyed cordial greetings of President Xi Jinping to Marcos and hoped that the two heads of state would steer the bilateral relations and provide strategic guidance.

Noting that cooperation between China and the Philippines goes far beyond their maritime differences, Wang said both sides should avoid defining bilateral ties by specific disputes, and not let individual differences disrupt bilateral cooperation.

President Marcos has said on many occasions that any differences should not and will not affect the historically important relationship between the two countries, which China agrees with, said the Chinese foreign minister.

For his part, Marcos asked Wang Yi to extend his sincere greetings to President Xi Jinping and thanked Chinese Vice President Wang Qishan's presence at his presidential inauguration ceremony on June 30.

Describing China as the most important partner of the Philippines, Marcos said that the Philippines hopes to continuously advance bilateral cooperation in a wide range of areas including politics, economy, trade, education and culture, and enrich the strategic partnership. 

Noting that the Philippines pursues a peaceful and independent foreign policy and always adheres to "the one-China policy," Macros said that the South China Sea issue should not limit bilateral cooperation. The Philippines is ready to have candid exchanges with China to find a friendly solution.

During a meeting with Philippine Vice President Sara Duterte-Carpio, Wang said China will deepen cooperation over agriculture, infrastructure, energy and people-to-people exchanges with the Philippines. Duterte-Carpio, who is also the education minister, said her country hopes to boost cooperation with China on education.

Duterte-Carpio said the Philippine side is looking forward to working with China to further the synergy with the Belt and Road Initiative. She also said in her capacity as the education minister that the Philippine side hopes to intensify educational cooperation with China at all levels.

'No colonial plunder'

When meeting with Philippine National Security Adviser Clarita Carlos, Wang said China will never follow the footsteps of traditional powers that engaged in colonial plunder.

China will adhere to its peaceful development and mutually beneficial cooperation while sharing development opportunities with its neighboring countries, jointly building a community with a shared future for humanity and taking good care of the global village, he said.

Wang said that China and the Philippines are neighbors that have no other choice than to stay true to their friendship. Sound, sustained and stable China-Philippines relations serve the fundamental and long-term interests of the two countries and their peoples.

The two sides should carry on their traditional friendship, make the China-Philippines relationship more solid and stronger, and keep its development on the right track, Wang said.

Enhance good-neighborly friendship

China and the Philippines will further enhance friendship and mutual trust, adhere to good neighborliness and deepen mutually beneficial cooperation, as agreed by Wang and Philippine Foreign Secretary Luis Enrique Manalo.

Noting that Wang is the first foreign minister to visit the Southeast Asian country after the new Philippine government was inaugurated on June 30, Manalo said the Philippines and China are good neighbors, who have seen fruitful results in their cooperation in various areas.

The Philippines will continue its adherence to the one-China policy and hopes to increase mutual trust and friendship and elevate bilateral relations to a higher level, Manalo said.

The Philippines believes that the problem involving islands and reefs in the South China Sea should be settled through diplomatic means and peaceful consultations to jointly safeguard peace and maritime stability, he said.

Wang, for his part, said that the only right path for the relations between the two countries is to adhere to good neighborliness and friendship and deepen mutually beneficial cooperation.

Recent years have witnessed bilateral ties enjoying all-round development and cooperation making strides in various fields under the strategic guidance of the two heads of state, bringing tangible benefits to the two peoples, he said.

Wang said the two sides should always properly handle the maritime issues from a strategic and overarching perspective, giving the issues a proper position in bilateral relations.

The two sides should also work to steadily advance the joint development in the South China Sea, accelerate consultations on the Code of Conduct in the South China Sea, and expand maritime cooperation to increase mutual benefit and win-win results, he said.

During the meeting, the two sides agreed to sustain a high-quality construction of the Belt and Road and secure more early results.

They also vowed to strengthen the China-ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) relations, jointly safeguard the regional architecture with ASEAN at its center, implement the important consensus reached at the China-ASEAN Special summit late last year, and push for a deeper and more solid China-ASEAN comprehensive strategic partnership.

In addition, both sides pledged to strengthen coordination and cooperation in multilateral affairs, jointly defend the legitimate rights and interests of developing countries, and jointly promote regional peace, development and prosperity.

After their meeting, Wang and Manalo officially launched the Davao City-Samal Island connector bridge project and witnessed the signing of cooperation documents.

(With input from Xinhua)

(Cover: Visiting Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi (L) meets with Philippine President Ferdinand Romualdez Marcos in Manila, the Philippines, July 6, 2022. /Xinhua)