Great Hall of the People, Beijing
January 4, 2023

President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. held a bilateral meeting with President Xi Jinping, the highlight of his State Visit to the People’s Republic of China.

This is the second face-to-face meeting between the two Heads of State in less than two months, the first one taking place on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Economic Leaders’ Meeting in Thailand.

President Marcos Jr. expressed his gratitude to President Xi Jinping for the warm hospitality accorded to him and the Philippine delegation since his arrival, and for citing the part that he played in opening relations between the two countries, referring to the 1974 visit with his mother, former First Lady Imelda Romualdez Marcos.

“It has now become my responsibility, but certainly my privilege to be able to continue on that legacy, to continue to promote the friendship between China and the Philippines, to continue to bring our peoples closer together,” the President stated.

The two leaders discussed a full range of bilateral relations to foster stronger economic cooperation, particularly in the areas of agriculture, energy, economy, education, infrastructure, cultural, tourism and people-to-people exchanges that were initially tackled in their first meeting.

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