Beijing seeking to improve Manila ties

Beijing-Manila relations will "return to the right track of healthy development" if the two sides work together toward the goal, the Foreign Ministry said on Friday.

Zhao Jianhua, the Chinese ambassador to the Philippines, visited Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte on Thursday, according to a statement by the ministry.

The visit came five days before the Arbitral Tribunal in The Hague is scheduled to announce its ruling in the arbitration case on the South China Sea dispute between the two countries.

The two sides exchanged views on "properly handling disputes and improving bilateral relations", the ministry said.

Early this week, sources close to the matter said Beijing is ready to start negotiations on issues such as joint development and cooperation in scientific research, if the Philippines government puts aside the tribunal's ruling.

During a speech in Davao City late last month, Duterte said he would refrain from commenting on the territorial dispute in the South China Sea, pending the decision in the arbitration case.

Li Guoqiang, a senior researcher at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences' Institute of Chinese Borderland Studies, said that China and the Philippines used to have communication over maritime disputes. However, the process has been disrupted by the arbitration case, which was unilaterally initiated by the Philippines, Li said.

"The Philippines' new government has sent a positive signal of resolving disputes through peaceful and diplomatic means, and China is glad to see that," Li added.

He said Manila's provocation has brought negative effects to economic cooperation between the two countries.

In May, before his inauguration, Duterte said he wanted China to help improve his nation's infrastructure by building a railway system linking the entire country.

Chen Qinghong, an expert on the Philippines at the China Institutes of Contemporary International Relations, said there is still room for Beijing-Manila economic cooperation if consensus is reached on how to deal with the arbitration ruling.

"China has good capability, technology and rich experience in infrastructure construction overseas, which could be used to improve the Philippines' infrastructure facilities," Chen said.