BANGKOK — "Elated" was how the Office of the Press Secretary (OPS) described President Bongbong Marcos upon meeting for the first time Chinese President Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the APEC Summit 2022 in the Thai capital on 17 November.

The two leaders' meeting, held at the Mandarin Oriental Hotel in Bangkok, was "cordial" and ended positively, OPS officer-in-charge Cheloy Garafil, who was present at the meeting, told Daily Tribune via text message.

The OPS released a video, in which Marcos generally described the meeting with Xi, without discussing specifics.

"The bilateral meetings are really just a kind of getting-to-know-you… " Marcos said, adding he and Xi talked" a little bit about regional issues," but mostly about his coming state visit to China in the first week of January 2023.

"So, whatever details… between the Philippines and China will be taken up then. But for now, it was a very pleasant exchange."

The OPS has yet to reveal which regional issues the two leaders talked about.

Marcos earlier said the dispute involving the West Philippine Sea is a top agenda if he gets to meet with Xi.

Marcos added Xi was surprised to see "an old friend," House Deputy Speaker and former president Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, who also attended the summit and the meeting.

"And they had a few minutes of recollecting the meetings they have had, which I think helped set the tone of the meeting," Marcos said.

House Speaker Martin Romualdez said Arroyo's presence as part of the Philippine delegation is "definitely an asset… her counsel to President Marcos is invaluable."