Chinese Ambassador to the Philippines Huang Xilian ensured that China will not interfere in the Philippines' election on May 9, 2022, saying the Asian giant is not in the business of meddling in the internal affairs of other countries.
Huang made the statement during the webinar hosted by the Philippine Association of Chinese Studies (PACS) on Saturday morning, March 5.
During the open forum, Huang was asked about China's thoughts on the elections and to shed light on rumors that the country has a Manchurian candidate. A Manchurian candidate refers to a politician being used as a puppet by an enemy power.
In response, Huang said that China is hands-off when it comes to the internal politics of other nations.
It’s been our position that china never interferes in the internal politics of other countries. The election is an internal politics of the Philippines," he said.
"We believe that the Philippine people have the wisdom to choose their own leader," he added.
The Chinese Envoy likewise is willing to work with the next Filipinos president and hoped to maintain the good relationship between the Philippines and China.
"As for China-Philippines relations, that’s another guidance of our two leaders for the past five years. Our bilateral relations have picked up a new momentum that served the best interest of our people," he said.
"We will continue to work with the leader elected by the people of the Philippines to continue this good momentum of our relations to bring more benefits to our people," he added.
Since President Duterte assumed office in 2016, The Philippines has shifted its foreign policy to other partners such as China despite the ongoing dispute in the West Philippine Sea.
Duterte, however, has not expressed support for any presidential candidate and opted to "stay neutral" unless there will be a compelling reason for him to endorse a candidate.
Meanwhile, during the same webinar, both Huang and the Philippine Ambassador to China Santiago "Chito" Sta. Romana agreed that the South China Sea issue should not be the sum total of the relationship between the two countries. They both said they are looking forward to working together in other areas of cooperation even after the Duterte administration.