As Philippine president Ferdinan Marcos Jr. wrapping up his official state visit to Beijing, CGTN's Dong Xue spoke to his sister, Imee Marcos, Senator of the Philippines.

DONG XUE CGTN Reporter "Multiple deals were signed under China's belt and road initiative, can you tell us more about these deals and how would it benefit both countries?"

IMEE R. MARCOS Senator of the Philippines "Yes, I think we were very happy that so many of these deals came about, particularly those deal with food security. We were joking, in fact, that we are now reduced to durian diplomacy.

"And of course, the R&D, the technology in farming here in China is extraordinary. After all, this is the only country that has lifted 800 million out of hunger and poverty in the history of the world. And there's no one better to teach us about that.

"Chairman Mao said that China was a country of land and the Philippines was a country of sea, and that therefore we should share and always be friends. And I think that holds true then, as it does now, so it's very important.

"He also said, of course, that friends do have differences, but then when they reconcile their differences, the friendship can only be stronger."

DONG XUE CGTN Reporter "You once said the Philippines and its Southeast Asian neighbors are calling for a rational approach in relations with the U.S. and China to prevent a repeat of the 'melodrama' of the Cold War. What did you mean by that statement? Against the backdrop of current China-U.S. tensions, how would the Philippines seek to achieve a balance between the two countries?"

IMEE R. MARCOS Senator of the Philippines "I think the Philippines is extremely well placed geographically and historically between the two countries. I say all the time that we have nothing in our history that tells us or warns us against China. Whereas there have been other powers that have repeatedly colonized the Philippines, hence we can only look forward towards friendship, trade and stability in the relations with China.

"We are never going back to a cold war situation. And I think it is important that we look towards a multi-polar world where there are many centers of power and they can coexist.

"The Pacific Ocean as well as the South China Sea is big enough for all of us. I don't really know what we should be fighting for."

DONG XUE CGTN Reporter "Both President Xi and President Marcos reached an consensus to solve the maritime disputes through friendly consultations, can we expect more maritime cooperation between the two countries in the future?"

IMEE R. MARCOS Senator of the Philippines "Yes, I think the agreement was that we should not confine ourselves to the official, bilateral and multilateral channels, but should in fact communicate at every level.

"That is to say, through the ministerial level, the defense level, agriculture and fisheries level, and even at the very top levels of the presidency.

"After all, this is one family in Asia and we can talk over the kitchen table as families do. And I think, a new Asian construct is very important, we should not be confined to the old organizations, the old protocols, and instead come up with something new that serves the purpose for us here."