Honorable Press Secretary, Ms. Trixie Cruz-Angeles,

Honorable President of SM Supermalls, Mr. Steven Tan,

Honorable Senior Associate Vice President for Operations of SM Supermalls, Mr. Perkin So,

Honorable President of Philippine Skating Union, Ms. Nikki Cheng, 

Honorable President of Chinese Enterprises Philippines Association (CEPA), Mr. Deng Jun,

Colleagues from Philippine government agencies including the DTI,

Ladies and gentlemen,

Dear friends,

Good morning! At the outset, I would like to express my condolences to the Philippine government and the Filipino people over the sudden earthquake disaster in the country this morning. Rest assured that China is willing to actively provide help to the Philippine side for disaster relief. I believe under the leadership of the Philippine government, the people in the disaster area will be able to overcome difficulties and resume normal production and life as soon as possible.

It is a great pleasure to attend the Photo Exhibition on China-Philippines Cooperation Achievements at SM Mall of Asia. On behalf of the Chinese Embassy, I would like to thank SM Supermalls for its support and cooperation as always. Previously, the Embassy and SM Supermalls have jointly carried out a number of activities with themes of welcoming the Beijing Winter Olympics, celebrating the Chinese New Year, and charity bazaar, which were all splendid and memorable. This time, the Photo Exhibition comes to the bustling SM Supermalls, another highlight after the exhibitions held at Binondo-Intramuros Bridge, the Federation of Filipino-Chinese Chambers of Commerce, the Angeles University, Rizal Park, and Dusit Thani Manila. In the near future, we will also set up exhibitions at SM Supermalls’ Cebu, Davao, and Baguio branches, to bring the story of China-Philippines friendship to more and farther places, letting the seeds of China-Philippines friendship take root and sprout all over the Philippines.

As Filipinos often say, “a picture speaks a thousand words”. The historic moments of China-Philippines high-level exchanges and cooperation in trade and investment, pandemic response, disaster relief, and other fields selected in this photo exhibition are the distinctive marks of China-Philippines friendship. In the past six years, China and the Philippines have adhered to good neighborliness and friendship, worked hand in hand for common development, actively promoted practical cooperation in various fields, and achieved fruitful results. China has been the Philippines’ largest trading partner for six consecutive years and has become the Philippines’ main source of foreign investment. It is also worth mentioning that the past six years witnessed infrastructure cooperation becoming the highlight of China-Philippines practical cooperation. The two sides have worked together in carrying out key projects such as bridges, highways, and dams, many of which, including three railways, have been progressing smoothly. Since the outbreak of the pandemic, China and the Philippines have been looking out for each other, and our bilateral cooperation has bucked the trend, illustrating the strong resilience and vitality of the relationship between our two countries.

“Well begun is half done”. With a new Philippine government just taking office, China-Philippines relations are now standing at a new starting point. Not long ago,  H.E. Wang Qishan, Special Representative of President Xi Jinping and Vice President of the People’s Republic of China visited the Philippines to attend the inauguration ceremony of President Marcos. He was followed by State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi who paid an official visit to the Philippines three days after H.E. Wang Qishan’s departure. Within a week, two high-level Chinese delegations visited the Philippines consecutively, setting a new record for high-level exchanges between our two countries and breaking new grounds for our bilateral relations. It also demonstrated the profound importance China has attached to the bilateral relations and our firm support for the Marcos administration. Just as President Marcos has said, “our strongest partner has always been our close neighbor and our good friend, the People's Republic of China”.

Looking ahead, China will continue to prioritize the Philippines in its neighborhood diplomacy and maintain continuity and stability in our friendly policy towards the country. China is willing to strengthen communication with the new Philippine government, follow through with the blueprint for bilateral and friendly cooperation, and shift our relations to a higher gear. In line with President Marcos’ ideas on national governance, China is ready to work with the Philippines in the four key areas of large-scale agriculture, infrastructure, energy, and cultural and people-to-people exchanges. I am confident that both sides will be committed to becoming good neighbors that help each other, good relatives that share mutual understanding and enjoy close bonds, and good partners that pursue cooperation and win-win results, so as to push for the upgrading of bilateral cooperation and usher in a new “golden age” in bilateral relations.

Lastly, I would like to thank SM Supermalls again for your strong support of this event!

I wish this event a complete success!