China and the Philippines agree to properly manage their differences on the South China Sea issue. The reaffirmations come as a further boost to the pragmatic cooperation between the two nations. They also agreed to resume talks about oil and gas explorations during a state visit by Philippine President Ferdinand Romualdez Marcos Jr. The three-day trip by Marcos marked the first visit by the Philippine leader to a non-ASEAN country since he took office in 2022. The Philippines and China agreed to resume discussions on oil and gas development and strengthen maritime cooperation.
The two leaders also pledged to restore the number of tourist arrivals and direct flights to pre-pandemic levels, in particular on the Beijing-Manila route. Trade between the two countries reached $80.4 billion in the first 11 months of 2022, a year-on-year rise of 8.3 per cent.
