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China is "fully prepared to open arms of friendship and extend our hand of cooperation to the people of the Philippines," Foreign Minister Wang Yi said on Tuesday ahead of Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte's state visit to China. The four-day visit by Duterte will be his first, as president, outside the Association of Southeast Asian Nations. Speaking at a news conference in Beijing, Wang praised Duterte for making the decision to restore friendship with China after taking office, saying that "no foreign force could stand in the way of that progress". "This reflects the wishes of the Philippine people, and is in line with the national interests of the country, as well as the historical trend," he said. Relations between Beijing and Manila suffered after the Philippine government, under Duterte's predecessor Benigno Aquino, initiated a unilateral arbitration to challenge China's sovereignty over the South China Sea. While the retrogression in ties undermined the interests of the Philippine people and regional stability, the historical visit of Duterte will be a new beginning in the China-Philippine relationship, Wang said. "We are fully prepared to open our arms of friendship and extend our hand of cooperation to the people of the Philippines," Wang said. "We are confident that this visit will be a success that will not only put the China-Philippine relationship back on the track of normal growth, but also open up new vistas for mutually beneficial cooperation," he added.
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