Newly-elected Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte has extended an offer of friendship to China as he expressed willingness to start direct talks with Beijing to resolve their territorial dispute in the South China Sea.

Duterte met with Beijing's ambassador to Manila on Monday, his first public appearance after a week's rest in his Davao City hometown and since winning the elections by a landslide.

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China, for its part, has congratulated the newly-elected leader and expressed eagerness to work with him and the new government to improve Beijing-Manila bilateral ties which have been strained in the past years over maritime issues in the South China Sea..

"We had a very good conversation," Ambassador Zhao Jianhua told reporters after the meeting."The Chinese side is looking forward to working with him and his team to further enhance our bilateral relationship."

Bilateral ties between the two countries have been badly damaged under the administration of President Benigno Aquino III after the Philippines filed a territorial case against China before the international Permanent Court of Administration (PCA) in the Hague.

"Well, ties have been cold. But I would rather be friendly with everybody," Duterte told reporters when asked if he would pursue closer ties with China.

The international arbitration tribunal is expected to hand down its verdict this month on the South China Sea territorial case filed by Manila against Beijing and thr ruling is widely expected to go against Beijing.

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The Aquino administration challenged China's claim to the disputed waters of the major international waterway three years ago, asking the court to strike down China's claim as invalid.

China is claiming almost the entirety of the South China Sea, even waters approaching the Philippine coasts and cutting through the exclusive economic zones of some Southeast Asian nations.

Beijing has ramped up its reclamation work on contested reefs in the sea, turning them into artificial islands.

In 2012, China took control of the Philippine-claimed Scarborough Shoal, a rich fishing area with waters well within Manila's exclusive economic zone.

Duterte said he will pursue multilateral talks with the US and claimant states in the South China Sea row, but reiterated that he will hold direct talks with Beijing if the multilateral talks fail.

TagsPresident-elect Rodrigo Duterte, friendly relations, South China Sea, Permanent Court of Administration, President Benigno Aquino III, china