Former president Rodrigo Duterte met Chinese President Xi Jinping in China on Monday, July 17, as his successor, President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr., started building closer relations with the United States, China’s main economic rival. China’s state news agency Xinhua bared the meeting between Duterte, whose policy during his administration focused on building stronger ties with China’s ruling Communist Party, and the Chinese leader. Photo courtesy of Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Hua Chunying
A video from China’s television network CCTV showed Duterte, holding a cane, shaking hands and sitting down for a talk with Xi at the Diaoyutai State Guesthouse in Beijing. Asked for comment, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said it does not “have official information of the visit of the former president.” Duterte and Xi’s meeting came as Marcos started building closer ties with the US, a contrast to Duterte’s approach, amid China’s more aggressive actions in the West Philippine Sea and in the South China Sea. But their meeting also came ahead of the handing down of the International Criminal Court's (ICC's) decision to investigate his administration's deadly war against drugs. During their talk, Xi expressed his appreciation to Duterte, who had made strategic choices of improving relations with China while he was still the president, Xinhua reported. The Chinese leader also noted Duterte's "important contributions to friendly exchanges between the two countries," Hua Chunying, spokesperson for China's Foreign Ministry said in a Twitter post. Xinhua also reported that the Xi hoped that Duterte would continue playing an important role in the friendly cooperation between the Philippines and China. "China values its relations with the Philippines and is ready to work with the Philippines to promote the steady and sustained growth of bilateral relations," Hua added.