PM to Asia with trade delegation

Although President Aquino attended the previous APEC summit in Beijing, he only met Xi for a short period of time during the last days of the APEC Summit.

“They expressed hope the contentious issues will not be raised (at APEC) and we said we will endeavor on our side not to raise contentious maritime issues”, Charles Jose, Manila’s foreign ministry spokesman, told a news conference.

“The United States welcomes the rise of a prosperous, peaceful and stable China”, he said at last year’s Apec summit.

Chinese President Xi Jinping will attend the G20 summit and the APEC Summit later this month, the Chinese Foreign Ministry said on Monday.

According to documents leaked ahead of the East Asia Summit, leaders from India, Japan, South Korea, New Zealand, the U.S. and Russian Federation will welcome talks between Asean and China that move toward a code of conduct in the sea, in an effort to prevent military conflict there.

The Philippines says it has agreed with China to pick up their stalled bilateral relations, after barely making contact in recent years because of competing claims in the South China Sea.

Last week an Asia-Pacific defence ministers’ meeting in Malaysia ended on a sour note as the United States and China butted heads over whether a final joint statement should mention the South China Sea.

“For reasons known to all, bilateral relations are facing difficulties, which is not something we want to see”, Hong told reporters in Beijing.

But Wang said China remains hopeful that the group will complete a roadmap for establishing the FTAAP framework.

Wang Yuzhu, a researcher at the National Institute of global Strategy at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, said the foreign minister’s stay in Manila will “provide precious opportunities for the two nations to discuss and improve their ties”.

The Philippines won the first round of its historic arbitration case against China before the Netherlands-based Permanent Court of Arbitration, which ruled that it has jurisdiction to hear the case despite Beijing’s objection.

China, the Philippines and four other governments have claims across the vast South China Sea, with Beijing claiming it has sovereignty over virtually all of the waters. Before their meeting, the two ministers posed for pictures and Wang signed a guest book.

He said Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos would also be in the country to attend a meeting with the other leaders of APEC member economies.

Wang Yi also said the upcoming APEC meting to be held in the Philippines is important to Asian countries as it helps promote cooperation among developing countries in the region.