Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte met with Chinese President Xi Jinping on Thursday in what political analysts said was part of Manila's charm offensive aimed at securing trade and investment deals from the world's second largest economy.

Duterte was given the red carpet welcome by President Xi, who also greeted him with full military honors at the Great Hall of the People.

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In the weeks ahead of his trip, Duterte said that he would not raise the South China Sea dispute between the two countries during the joint talks saying that he would wait for President Xi to mention it first before he responds.

Estrangement

The Philippine leader said talks on the South China Sea dispute would "take a backseat" and that there would be a "proper time" to discuss the sovereignty of the disputed sea.

President Xi said that he hopes that Duterte's "milestone" visit to China can help restore the ties between both nations fully after years of estrangement due to their maritime conflict.

Xi told Duterte that Manila and Beijing are 'brothers," and that the two sides could very well manage their dispute.

"I wish we follow the wishes of the people and use this visit as an opportunity to push Sino-Philippine relations back to when they were close friends," he said.

Xi's comment was reportedly the first and only remark he made regarding the South China Sea dispute in front of reporters and the media.

Not the proper time

"This is not the proper time to discuss the South China Sea dispute. If President Xi brings up the maritime dispute during our talks, then that would be the only time I would raise our maritime claims in the South China Sea," Duterte said during a press conference.

The Philippine leader said his trip to China is geared towards restoring ties with Beijing after years of hostilities between the two sides after Manila's filed a case with a Hague-based tribunal over the South China Sea dispute.

Although Duterte said the visit is aimed at improving ties with Beijing, he also voiced hopes that Manila could secure much-needed investment on infrastructure and other projects from Beijing.

20 MOU

Chinese officials said more than 20 memoranda of understanding (MOU), mostly on economic cooperation, are slated to be signed by the two sides on Thursday following Duterte's announcement that Manila is establishing a new commercial alliance with Beijing.

In a separate interview, China's foreign ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said Beijing was pleased about Duterte's plans to use dialogue and consultation to resolve the maritime dispute between both nations.

"This is how two friendly neighbours should treat each ­other," she said. "We have our own judgment on who is our friend, and we know what issues we can handle in a way like between friends." 

More than 300 business executives have traveled with Duterte on his four-day visit to Beijing hoping to strike a multi-billion dollar business deals.

Already, the state-owned China Rail Group has offered US$3 billion to fund Manila's infrastructure projects through investment and soft loans. 

TagsPresident Duterte, President Xi Jinping, MOU, China visit, South China Sea, brothers, china