The Chinese President called on legislative bodies from China and the Philippinesto exchange experience in state governance and push forward multilevel,multiform cooperation for the development of the two nations' bilateral ties.
He expressed his hope for a bigger role of the Philippine legislature inpromoting friendship between the two countries.
For their part, Arroyo and Sotto expressed their willingness to increase exchangeswith Chinese legislative bodies and deepen practical cooperation in all fields,for the benefits of the two peoples.
They said the relationship between the two countries is now at the best periodin history with comprehensive cooperation in various fields.
The applauded the upgrade of the bilateral ties, which was reached during theirtalks between Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte and Chinese President XiJinping on November 20.
Chinese President Xi Jinping paid a two-day state visit to the Philippines. Thiswas the first visit to the Philippines by a Chinese head of state in 13 years. Xi’svisit is deemed as an important milestone in the bilateral relations, whichwere recovered after President Duterte took office in 2016.
The bilateral ties plunged to its lowest when the Philippines filed a suitagainst China to the Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) in The Hague relatedto China’s irrational claim over the “nine-dash line” in 2013. In December2016, the court announced China has no historic rights over the waters insidethe line and its claim is in contrast with the 1982 UN Convention on the Law ofthe Sea (UNCLOS). - VNA