Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lu Kang (Photo source: fmprc.gov.cn)
China is hoping for a fresh start in diplomatic relations with the Philippines' new government.
With an unofficial count of votes showing Davao city mayor Rodrigo Duterte has won the Philippine presidential election, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lu Kang said, "China hopes the Philippines' new government can work in the same direction with China, properly handle our differences and get bilateral ties back on track with concrete actions."
Lu said at a regular press conference that China has always attached great importance to maintaining relations with the Philippines.
"However, China-Philippines ties have suffered from severe difficulties in recent years, due to well-known reasons," Lu said, alluding to the two countries' territorial disputes in the South China Sea.
Duterte has called for multilateral talks involving the United States and Japan as well as rival claimants to resolve these disputes, but Lu ruled out this possibility.
He said China advocates the dual-track approach proposed by the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). Under this, the directly concerned states would negotiate in line with international law while China and ASEAN countries would work together to maintain regional peace and stability.
