President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. is set to travel to the People's Republic of China for a State visit on 3 to 6 January, the Department of Foreign Affairs confirmed Thursday.
DFA Assistant Secretary for Asian and Pacific Affairs Nathaniel Imperial said Marcos' trip to China will be his first state visit outside of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations.
Marcos will be joined by his wife, First Lady Liza Marcos, former President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, House of Representatives Speaker Martin Romualdez, Secretary of Foreign Affairs Enrique Manalo, Secretary of Finance Benjamin Diokno, Secretary of Trade and Industry Alfredo Pascual, Secretary of Information and Communication Technology Ivan Uy, and other Cabinet Secretaries whose presence "may be needed to sign bilateral agreements with their Chinese counterparts."
"The Department of Foreign Affairs considers the state visit of great significance. It will be the first bilateral visit of the President to a non-ASEAN country since assuming the Presidency," said Imperial, adding that it will be the second face-to-face meeting between the two heads of state in less two months.
Imperial said it is expected that Marcos' state visit to China will set the tone of bilateral relations between the two countries in the next five to six years.
"The state visit is also expected to reaffirm the cordial neighborly relations between the two countries, ensure continuity of many facets of bilateral relations and chart more areas of engagements," he said.
The Philippine government recognizes China as one of the country's major economic partners, with 20 percent of the Philippines' total trade coming from it.