Chinese Ambassador to the Philippines Huang Xilian has ended his tour of duty in the country, expressing “conviction” that the relationship between China and the Philippines—despite the tensions—will “come back on the right track.”

In a post Facebook post on Friday, Sept. 19, the envoy thanked Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) Secretary. Ma. Theresa Lazaro for a farewell luncheon held in his honor.

“Thank you, Madam Secretary,” he wrote. “I cherish our candid and constructive engagements over the years. I also share your sentiments and conviction that China-Philippines relationship will overcome difficulties and come back on the right track.”

Before she was the DFA chief, Lazaro was the undersecretary for bilateral relations and Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) affairs.

In this capacity, she became the lead negotiator for the Code of Conduct in the South China Sea and represented the Philippines in the Bilateral Consultation Mechanism with China.

She described her relationship with Huang in a post on X (formerly Twitter) as “candid but constructive.”

“Amidst the ups and downs in Philippines-China bilateral relations over the years, my engagements with Ambassador Huang Xilian have remained candid but constructive,” she wrote.

“That our RORE missions to the BRP Sierra Madre in the Ayungin Shoal can now be conducted incident-free attests to the value of our intensive diplomatic negotiations on the Provisional Understanding,” she added, referring to the agreement in July last year for the resupply of daily necessities and rotation missions to the BRP Sierra Madre in Ayungin Shoal.

This arrangement came after “a series of consultations following the frank and constructive discussions between the two sides” during the 9th Bilateral Consultation Mechanism (BCM) on the South China Sea also in early July last year.

The DFA stressed that the arrangement doe not weaken the two countries’ positions regarding the territorial and maritime issues in the South China Sea.

“As we are celebrating 50 years of diplomatic relations, we hope to continue our productive and future-oriented cooperation with China,” Lazaro stressed.