PRESIDENT Rodrigo Duterte will again visit China in May after making an official visit to Beijing seven months ago, its Foreign Ministry said Thursday.
In a statement posted in its website, the Chinese Foreign Ministry confirmed that Duterte will attend the “One Belt, One Road” International cooperation summit forum in May.
The statement quoted Duterte’s assurance about his attendance during the latter’s meeting with China’s Vice Foreign Minister Liu Zhenmin in Manila last Tuesday.
“I will come to Beijing in May to attend the ‘One Belt, One Road’ international cooperation summit forum, and I look forward to meeting President Xi Jinping again,” the Chinese Foreign Ministry said quoting Duterte.
It also said that Duterte was pleased with how bilateral ties had developed since he came to China last year.
Bilateral relations became closer after Duterte announced he would break away from the United |States, its long-standing ally, and form new relationships with China and Russia.
The Department of Foreign Affairs could not confirm Duterte’s coming visit to China because there were no foreign officials present during the Tuesday meeting.
Over the past years, China has dubbed a series of infrastructure projects stretching across some 60 countries as the “One Belt, One Road” initiative based on resurrecting the old Silk Road that once connected China to Central Asia, Europe and beyond.
The Chinese Foreign Ministry said that the forum would be attended by a large number of foreign leaders.
