Your Excellency President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr.,

Your Excellency former President Rodrigo Roa Duterte represented by former Executive Secretary Salvador Medialdea,

Honorable Attorney Raul Lambino, Chairman of Philippine-China Understanding Association (APCU),

Honorable Secretaries, Members of the Congress,

Dear Guests,

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Good afternoon!

It is an honor to join you all in this ceremony for the 3rd Award for Promoting Philippines-China Understanding (APPCU) right before the 48th anniversary of China-Philippines diplomatic ties and 22nd Chinese-Filipino Friendship Day. On behalf of the Chinese Embassy, I would like to extend warm congratulations to His Excellency former President Duterte and other laureates of the award, and appreciation to APCU for  organizing thoughtfully this event. 

Your Excellency President Marcos, may I take this opportunity to thank you again for your presence at this year’s ceremony. You attended last year’s ceremony. This shows the importance you have attached to China-Philippines relations. It is also the common expectation of the 1.5 billion people of our two countries combined. 

APPCU was born during the hard days of the pandemic and has grown through thick and thin. It has become a flagship program to enhance friendship and mutual understanding between China and the Philippines. Over the past three years, 27 Filipino friends have received this award for their unique yet remarkable contribution to promoting friendship and understanding between our two countries. The laureates have since organized hundreds of seminars, forums, interviews and press conferences on a variety of topics. Their effort is an injection of new energy into our friendship and bilateral relations.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

The world today is undergoing major transformations unseen in a century. As neighbors and close friends for over one thousand years, the Philippines and China have always stuck together through weal and woe. Chinese President Xi Jinping pointed out that China and the Philippines are both developing countries in Asia. Our development is rooted in a friendly neighborhood and in the Asian family for win-win cooperation. President Marcos Jr. also emphasized that the future of Asia-Pacific cannot be determined by anyone but the countries of the Asia-Pacific.

Earlier this year, President Marcos paid a successful visit to China. Our two heads-of-state reached important consensus on further deepening our cooperation in various fields by prioritizing the four key areas of agriculture, infrastructure, energy and people-to-people exchanges. We firmly believe that upholding mutual respect and trust, cherishing good neighborliness and friendship, keeping to the direction of mutual understanding and mutual accommodation in settling differences serve as the fundamental principles of our bilateral relations. As long as the consensus between our two top leaders is implemented in real earnest, and the above principles followed, we will be able to uplift China-Philippines relations to a new level, bring more benefits to our two peoples, and contribute more positive energy to regional peace and stability!

Excellencies,

May I conclude by wishing this year’s APPCU awarding ceremony a great success! Thank you and Mabuhay!