The Chinese Embassy in the Philippines has hosted the family of former Senator Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. to a tour of the Embassy’s library and allowed them to walk back down the memory lane and reminisce on the watershed moment in the Philippine-China relations.

Chinese Ambassador to the Philippines Huang Xilian ushered the Marcos family to his library inside the Embassy and showed the former senator a picture of his father, the late President Ferdinand E. Marcos, together with then Chinese Premier Zhou Enlai in Beijing on June 9, 1975.

“Look! This is our common memory,” Huang said in a social media post over the weekend.

He was shown in the accompanying photo giving the Marcos family a tour at the Embassy library.

Huang presented to the young Marcos a photo of his father seated beside Premier Chou while signing the joint declaration that led to the establishment of diplomatic relations between Manila and Beijing.

“There is one picture displayed in my library. It is the only picture in my library, which has been passed on from generation to generation. I was serendipitously showing this picture to Bongbong Marcos and his family, the picture of his father signing with Premier Zhou Enlai the Joint Statement between China and the Philippines on June 9, 1975, that lifted our traditional relations to a diplomatic level,” Huang said.

The Chinese said reminiscing the history of the relations between China and the Philippines is best described in one of the proverbs of the late Chinese leader Mao Zedong: “When you drink the water, think of those who dug the well."

“China-Philippines relations have made great strides throughout the years. And just like Chairman Mao's proverb, we have walked on roads paved and fortified by our predecessors. I hope that we continue to open new paths to strengthen our relationship and build ties that the people of the next generation can look back on and be proud of,” the envoy added. Many luminaries, including those who served during the 19-year Marcos administration, described the establishment of the Philippine-China relations in 1975 as a “brave and innovative move on the part of President Marcos.”

“Many were not prepared for this but in hindsight, it was the most forward-looking initiative of any president in the region. It opened an entirely unknown world to the so-called free world,” former Senator Francisco Tatad said in one of his previous interviews posted online.

Tatad served as Information Minister under the Marcos administration, most particularly during the Martial Law years.