Amid disputes concerning sovereignty over the South China Sea, the leaderships of the Philippines and China, who recently met, seem to have not yet settled both countries' positions on the disputed water.
Instead, President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. and Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi agreed to find a friendly solution to their differences, Wang Wenbin, spokesman of China's Foreign Ministry, said in an interview on Friday.
"The Chinese side underlined the importance to view things from a strategic and overall perspective, set aside disputes, and use political wisdom to advance joint development and make the pie of cooperation bigger," Wang said.
"The Philippine side responded positively and expressed readiness to carry out candid exchanges with the Chinese side to find a friendly solution to the issue and jointly safeguard peace and stability in the South China Sea," he added.
On July 5, the Chinese foreign minister arrived in the Philippines for a two-day visit. He met with Marcos Jr., as well as with Foreign Affairs Secretary Enrique Manalo and Vice President Sara Duterte-Carpio.
In his presser, Marcos Jr. said he would find ways to resolve conflicts over the West Philippine Sea.
However, during their meeting, the two leaders seemed to have focused on other things.
Wang said the Philippines and China instead talked about and agreed to cooperate in four areas, namely agriculture, infrastructure, energy, and cultural and people-to-people exchanges, "to enhance friendship and cooperation."
While both leaderships mentioned that "the South China Sea issue is not the sum total of bilateral relations," they agreed not to allow "specific differences to define our relationship or allow individual disputes to interfere with overall cooperation."
"We have great expectations for the future of China-Philippines relations and stand ready to work together with the Philippine side to deepen friendship and cooperation and provide more positive energy to the steady development of our two countries and the wider region," Wang said.