Philippine President cuts short visit to China
The Philippine president has decided to cut short his visit to China next week to four days from the original six-day plan.
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Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte. Photo:Inquirer. |
Philippine media reported that President Duterte will arrive in Beijing on August 28. He will hold talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping and Premier Li Keqiang before leaving on August 31. According to the original plan, the Philippine President will have his longest visit to China from August 28 to September 2.
Philippine Assistant Foreign Secretary Meynardo Montealagre also confirmed that Duterte will not attend the inauguration of a school named after his mother in Fujian province, southeast China on September 2 as scheduled. "The trip to Fujian will be postponed to an appropriate time in the future," Montealagre said.
Robert Borje, Director of the Philippine Presidential Protocol Bureau, said the decision to cancel the trip to Fujian province was due to logistical issues.
Duterte had previously pledged to raise the 2016 ruling of the Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) on the South China Sea during his visit to Beijing and said he would rather cancel meetings with Chinese leaders than be prevented from raising the issue. According to Duterte, only when the ruling is mentioned will the two sides continue to discuss exploration and exploitation of "valuable things in the ground".
