Vice President Duterte (left) and SCFM Wang (right) (CREDIT: Camille Barizo, DFA)

MAKATI CITY, 07 JULY 2022 -Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi arrived in the Philippines on 05 July 2022 upon the invitation of Secretary of Foreign Affairs Enrique A. Manalo. During his visit, the State Councilor paid a courtesy call on HonorableSara Z. Duterte, Vice President of the Philippines, at the Dusit Hotel on 06 July 2022.

During the call, Vice President Duterte thanked the State Councilor and Foreign Minister for China’s support to the Philippines, especially in terms of the Build Build Build Program of the Duterte administration. She acknowledged the significant role of China in terms of the construction of the Samal Island-Davao Connector bridge, which she hopes would be completed as soon as possible, as this would bring much economic progress to the people of Davao.

As Education Secretary she aired the concerns of numerous Filipino students who are eager to return to China in order to continue their studies. She looks forward to partnering with China in the field of education so as to enhance the academic performance of Filipino students. She also cited possible cooperation with China in terms of its need for education professionals who can teach English to Chinese students.

In his remarks, SCFM Wang congratulated the Vice President on her election and the leadership of former President Rodirigo Roa Duterte. He went on to discuss China’s priority areas of cooperation for the Philippines under the new Administration would focus on the areas of agriculture, infrastructure, energy, and people-to-people exchanges. He cited the important role of Vice President Duterte as Education Secretary in uplifting the lives of the Filipinos. He promised that China stands ready to step-up education cooperation and will certainly assist in the facilitation of the return of Filipino students to China aside from increasing the number of scholarships for Filipinos in Chinese education institutions.