Xi visits Philippines as Duterte is pressed to take a tougher line with China
President Rodrigo Duterte has heaped praise on China's leader for his economic support, but some analysts say he is being exploited
Chinese leader Xi Jinping visited the Philippines on Tuesday to further strategic gains made under President Rodrigo Duterte, who hailed a “new impetus” behind a relationship that his massive infrastructure ambitions could depend on. Xi’s visit comes two years after the maverick Duterte declared he was reorienting his foreign policy away from longtime ally the US and towards China, despite decades of mistrust and bitter maritime disputes with Beijing. Opponents say Duterte is making too many political concessions to China in return for billions of dollars of pledged loans and investments that have yet to materialise or be committed to formally. On Tuesday the two leaders oversaw 29 agreements of sorts, many of them broad or vague — from co-operating in education, culture and industrial-park development to jointly promoting infrastructure, agriculture co-operatives and establishing sanitation protocols for shipping coconuts.
Duterte said there was “a deepening trust and confide...
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