Chinese Ambassador to Manila Huang Xilian made a call to bring China’s and Philippines’ bilateral relations “back on track” as he and the embassy celebrated the 2025 Chinese New Year.
 

(From left) Chinese Ambassador to Manila Huang Xilian, First Lady Liza Araneta-Marcos, and Senate President Francis Escudero (Photo from Amb. Huang)

In a Facebook post, the envoy posted photos of the Chinese New Year celebration at the Chinese Embassy in Manila.
 

Among his guests were First Lady Liza Araneta-Marcos and Senate President Francis Escudero.
 

“It is important to renew our original aspiration, heed the call of our peoples, shoulder our shared responsibility for history, people and future, and work together to bring bilateral relations back on track and take on new vitality,” he wrote.
 

While he did not mention the territorial and maritime dispute between the Philippines and China, the two once-friendly countries have traded barbs as tensions run high because of overlapping claims in the resource-rich West Philippine Sea.
 

Despite this, the ambassador noted that this year marks the 50th anniversary of diplomatic relations between China and the Philippines.
 

“As close neighbors, the friendly relations between our two countries have lasted for thousands of years,” he said.
 

“Fifty years ago, our visionary leaders made the historical decision of establishing diplomatic ties and ushered in a new chapter in our bilateral relations,” he added.
 

The Spring Festival, or the Chinese New Year, is the first day of the first month of the Chinese calendar.
 

This year, it fell on Wednesday, Jan. 29, and was declared a special non-working holiday in the Philippines.
 

The celebration of the Chinese New Year includes many social practices, such as the cleaning of homes, wearing new clothes, preparing food for families to feast on together, and making offerings to elders and the ancestors.