(A closer look at China) The meeting between the heads of state of China and the Philippines, why did Xi Jinping mention this "historical story"?
China News Agency, Beijing, January 5 (Reporter Liang Xiaohui) "I hope that your visit to China will not only be a 'journey of nostalgia', but also a 'journey of pioneering'." On the 4th, Chinese President Xi Jinping met with the Philippines in Beijing. When President Marcos held talks, he expressed his expectation for Marcos' visit.
On January 4, President Xi Jinping held talks with Philippine President Marcos, who was on a state visit to China, at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing.
Before the talks, Xi Jinping held a welcoming ceremony for Marcos in the North Hall of the Great Hall of the People.
Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Shen Hong
This is the first foreign head of state received by China in the new year, and it is also Marcos' first visit to China and the first state visit to a country outside ASEAN after taking office.
Behind these "firsts" during Marcos' visit, he also has a special relationship with China.
Marcos' father was former Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos. During his tenure, the Philippines and China formally established diplomatic relations in 1975.
The year before, Marcos, who was only 17 years old, visited China with his mother and was received by Chairman Mao Zedong.
That visit also paved the way for the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries.
"Many Chinese people are familiar with that period of history and still remember it fresh." During the meeting with Marcos, Xi Jinping specifically mentioned this period of history, saying that "this friendship is very precious."
Looking back at the past, it was the historic decision of establishing diplomatic relations between China and the Philippines 48 years ago that the older generation of leaders of China and the Philippines had insight into the current situation and complied with the general trend, which laid the foundation for the continuous development of China-Philippines relations.
Today, China-Philippines relations are once again standing at a new historical starting point. Xi Jinping mentioned this "historical story" and expressed his good wishes for the two sides to continue to promote the development of China-Philippines relations.
"If you don't know where you came from, you can't go far." Xi Jinping quoted this famous saying from the Philippines when he had a phone call with Marcos, who had just been elected president, in May last year. article.
The outside world also believes that the election of Marcos will usher in a new era of China-Philippines relations, which have been consolidated and upgraded in recent years, that is, to realize the "speeding up" of China-Philippines relations and usher in a new "golden age" of China-Philippines friendship. ".
The sound interaction between the heads of state of China and the Philippines has guided the development of bilateral relations.
Since May last year, the heads of state of the two countries have exchanged congratulatory messages, phone calls, and dispatched special envoys, playing the "trilogy" of head-of-state diplomacy.
In November last year, the two heads of state met face-to-face for the first time in Bangkok, Thailand, further demonstrating their unanimous willingness to build a stronger and closer bilateral relationship.
During Marcos' visit to China this time, the two heads of state met for the second time in less than two months.
"I will continue to strengthen the bond of friendship between the people of the Philippines and China, and promote bilateral relations to a higher level of cooperation." Marcos said before his visit to China, looking forward to "opening a new chapter in the comprehensive strategic cooperative relationship between the Philippines and China." .
From the perspective of the outside world, Xi Jinping mentioned this "historical story" and hoped that the two sides could learn more useful experience from history and create a new future for bilateral relations.
The results of a series of visits to China also show that the "pioneering journey" is enough to become another keyword besides "nostalgia" for Marcos' visit.
On January 4, President Xi Jinping held talks with Philippine President Marcos, who was on a state visit to China, at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing.
Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Yue Yuewei
This visit further consolidated the development of Sino-Philippine relations.
During the talks, the two sides reaffirmed each other's important positions in their respective diplomatic structures.
Xi Jinping said that China always puts the Philippines in the priority direction of its neighborhood diplomacy, insists on viewing China-Philippines relations from a strategic and overall perspective, and puts forward the "three good" relationship positioning-"to be a good neighbor who helps and helps each other, a good relative who knows each other, A good partner for win-win cooperation."
Marcos said, I hope to prove to the world through this visit that the relationship between the Philippines and China is very good and very important.
Relevant expressions are also included in the joint statement issued during this interview.
Chinese Assistant Foreign Minister Wu Jianghao commented that this visit has set a new milestone for future Sino-Philippine relations.
This visit has opened up new prospects for China-Philippines cooperation.
When the heads of state of China and the Philippines met in Bangkok last time, Xi Jinping proposed that the two sides should strive to create highlights of cooperation, improve the quality of cooperation, and benefit the two peoples.
During the talks in Beijing, Xi Jinping further proposed to "cultivate growth points and create new bright spots" on the basis of the four major areas of cooperation - agriculture, infrastructure, energy, and people-to-people and cultural cooperation.
In particular, the two sides have further reached a consensus on the joint construction of the "Belt and Road" initiative and the planning of "building more and building better".
Under the leadership of the head of state's diplomacy, the two sides signed cooperation documents related to the "Belt and Road Initiative", agriculture and fisheries, infrastructure, finance, customs, e-commerce, tourism, etc.
The analysis pointed out that these cooperations have three characteristics: first, strong complementarity, one side has advantages, and the other side has needs; People's livelihood, as Marcos said, "the signed cooperation documents will greatly help the economic development of the Philippines."
A detail also shows the reciprocity of the cooperation between the two parties.
The media in Davao, the "hometown of durian" in the Philippines, said on the 4th that one of the agreements signed during Marcos' visit to China was to export durian to China, and local exporters are gearing up to enter the "huge market" of China.
On social media, Chinese people also expressed their expectation for more Philippine durians to be served on their dining tables.
During this visit, China and the Philippines actively promoted the effective management and control of differences.
It is undeniable that China and the Philippines have differences on the South China Sea issue.
But this visit sent a clear signal to the outside world: differences cannot be the whole of China-Philippines relations, and the two sides have found an effective way to prevent differences from affecting cooperation.
During the talks, the heads of state of China and the Philippines mentioned at the same time that they will continue to properly handle maritime issues through friendly consultations and restart negotiations on oil and gas development.
The joint statement reached during this visit also indicated that the two sides are willing to resume offshore oil and gas development consultations as soon as possible, and have decided to establish a direct communication mechanism between the Department of Border and Ocean Affairs of the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Department of Oceanography of the Philippine Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Xu Liping, a researcher at the Institute of Asia-Pacific and Global Strategy of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, believes that this is a very important achievement of the visit.
The joint development of oil and gas is a crucial step in building the South China Sea into a sea of peace, friendship and cooperation.
To reach this step, the most important thing is to manage and control differences.
"The establishment of a direct communication mechanism is an effective way to manage differences in the South China Sea. It reflects the wisdom of both sides and the pioneering nature of this visit." Xu Liping said that there are reasons to expect Marcos' visit to be the same as his visit more than 40 years ago. It can become another "good story" in the history of the development of bilateral relations.
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