President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. said his meeting with Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang was very useful and productive as the two of them were able to iron out misinterpreted pronouncements between the Philippines and China.

President Marcos welcomes Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang in Malacañang on April 22, 2023. (Noel Pabalate)

This was the assessment made by Marcos following his meeting with Qin in Malacañang on Saturday, April 22. The meeting came after Chinese Ambassador to the Philippines Huang Xilian's controversial remark about overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) in Taiwan.

In a statement, the President admitted that some recent pronouncements by the neighboring countries could be misinterpreted.

He said talking directly to Qin clarified the "misinterpreted" pronouncements.

"So, today, it was really useful that we were able to speak with Minister Qin Gang, the Foreign Minister of China, so we can talk directly to one another and iron things out," Marcos said.

"It's very, very useful and very, very productive that Minister Qin came here and that we were able to talk things a little bit through," he added.

Huang's statement stemmed from the establishment of four new additional Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA) sites that would give American troops access to Philippine military bases.

Huang was present during the Saturday meeting in Malacañang. A video shared with media showed the President having small talk with the Chinese envoy before the meeting started.

WATCH: President Marcos makes small talk with, and even pats the back of, Chinese Ambassador to the Philippines Huang Xilian. (🎥 MPC pool) @manilabulletin pic.twitter.com/40Tj0KbzBC

— Argyll Cyrus Geducos (@argyll_mb) April 22, 2023

This week, Marcos said he intended to talk to Ambassador Huang to clarify the latter's "surprising" remarks about the OFWs in Taiwan.

Marcos admitted that he was "surprised" by Huang's statement but thought it could be because English was not the envoy's first language.

Marcos has assured China that it had nothing to worry about regarding the new EDCA sites.

PH-China ties

Meanwhile, President Marcos said he and Minister Qin discussed the future of the relationship between the Philippines and China.

"We were able to talk things a little bit through, make plans for the future, continue to work on growing the relationship between the Philippines and China, not only in the economic field but in the cultural and educational and other exchanges," he said.

Marcos: So we are currently working on that and are awaiting the Chinese response and we are confident that these issues would be worked out that would be mutually beneficial for both our nations. @manilabulletin

— Argyll Cyrus Geducos (@argyll_mb) April 22, 2023

As to the conflicts, the Chief Executive said they have agreed to establish more lines of communication to "immediately resolve" any event in the West Philippine Sea involving the two countries.

"We are currently working on that and are awaiting the Chinese response," Marcos said.

We are confident that these issues would be worked out that would be mutually beneficial for both our nations," he added.