Duterte in China: 5 things to know about this trip

MANILA, Philippines – Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte ended a historic state visit to China on Friday, October 21, after he declared he was moving away from Washington to seek closer ties with Beijing, America’s rival in the Asia-Pacific. 

That was the biggest news during this 4-day trip to China. Duterte announced his “separation from the United States” in both economic and military terms, eliciting a wave of reactions even from international media.

His men quickly downplayed Duterte’s statement. Upon his return to Davao City, Duterte said he did not mean a “severance of ties.”

While this issue became the talk of the town, China also committed $9 billion in soft loans for drug rehabilitation and development projects in the Philippines.

At the same time, the businessmen who accompanied Duterte brought home around $24 billion in business deals.

The Philippines and China agreed, as well, to exercise self restraint in the disputed West Philippine Sea (South China Sea).

Meanwhile, Duterte addressed other domestic issues such as the violent clash at the US embassy in Manila on Wednesday, October 19.

Rappler presents the following directory of stories related to Duterte’s trip to Beijing, mostly written by Rappler multimedia reporter Pia Ranada, who reported from China.

We’ve divided these into 5 categories – 5 things you need to know about this state visit.  

1. Duterte announcing ‘separation’ from US 

• Duterte announces military, economic split from US
• Duterte tells Chinese: Americans are ‘loud, discourteous’
• Duterte: If China gives us loans, no more ‘American exercises’
• PH won’t break treaties, agreements with allies
• By ‘separation’ from US, Duterte meant ‘rebalance’ to Asia – Pernia
• No economic loss in Duterte’s ‘separation’ from US
• Duterte says he will not sever US ties 
• Duterte’s ‘China pivot’ draws int’l reactions

2. Duterte delegation bagging deals, aid

• Duterte bringing home $24B worth of deals from China
• China commits $9B in ‘soft loans’ for PH drug rehab, dev’t projects

3. Philippines, China discussing the West Philippine Sea 

• PH, China agree to self-restraint in West PH Sea
• PH, China agree to hold talks on maritime dispute
• PH, China sign coast guard cooperation pact, 12 other deals
• Duterte: West PH Sea dispute ‘takes back seat’ in state visit 
• Duterte: No talks with China on joint exploration in West PH Sea
• PH-China sea dispute may not be solved ‘in our lifetime’ – Yasay 

4. Philippines, China boosting ties

• Xi Jinping accepts invite to visit PH
• Philippines, China agree on joint drug probes
• PH welcomes China bid for consulate in Davao
• Duterte visit marks ‘full recovery’ of PH-China ties
• China lifts travel advisory vs PH
• Duterte not seeking military alliance with China 
• Duterte expects ‘plenty of happiness’ from China state visit
• Duterte arrives in Beijing to begin state visit

5. Duterte tackling other domestic issues

• US embassy dispersal: Duterte not yet blaming anyone 
• Duterte: De Lima will suffer same fate as Gloria Arroyo
• Duterte wants reopening of Mamasapano probe 
• Duterte: If Marcos wins protest, ‘maybe we’ll have a new VP’

– Rappler.com