Observers said they expect the Philippines' president-elect, Rodrigo Duterte, who was proclaimed the winner in the May 9 elections by Congress Monday, to open a new door for Sino-Philippine cooperation, regardless of maritime disputes.

Though the US has urged Duterte to "challenge China 'expansionism' over disputed islands," the new president's greatest challenge is to "overcome such threats and to use the helpful hand of the Philippines' thousand year-old friendship with China" to actually benefit the Filipino people, Herman Tiu Laurel, a host on the Manila-based Global News Network, told the Global Times in an e-mail.

In a message to congratulate Duterte on being elected Philippine president, Chinese President Xi Jinping said on Monday that the leaders of China and the Philippines share the responsibility to maintain and deepen their good neighborly and friendly relations as well as mutually beneficial cooperation, Xinhua reported.

Xi added that he hoped the two sides would work together to get bilateral relations back on the track of sound development. Xi also congratulated Duterte beforehand on leading the Philippine people to make new achievements in national construction and development.

Railway cooperation

Before he was officially announced the winner, Duterte said on Saturday that construction of the nation's railway system is the "first big project" of his administration, the Manila Livewire reported Sunday.

However, since the Philippines lacks funds for the project, assistance from other nations is needed, Duterte said at a press conference in Davao City. When asked which particular nation he had in mind, he answered, "maybe China," said the report.

According to Duterte, the new railway systems would link Manila to Nueva Ecija in the north, and to Sorsogon and Batangas in southern Luzon.

Another area that urgently needs support and fast construction capabilities are hydro-electric and irrigation facilities, said Laurel.

He said the vast multi-stage Agus-Pulangui hydro-electric plants in Duterte's own Mindanao island suffer up to 70 percent siltation, and 2.5 million hectares of farmland still lacks irrigation as of 2015.

What's more, "China has eliminated hunger by developing its indigenous hybrid rice, and other crops can be of great assistance to the Philippines' quest for food self-sufficiency," added Laurel.

Aside from infrastructure, Beijing and Manila could cooperate in trade, tourism, and investments that could truly benefit the Philippines, Li Kaisheng, an associate research fellow at the Institute of International Relations, Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences, told the Global Times.

China is the Philippines' second-largest trading partner, according to the latest annual foreign trade data released by the Philippine Statistics Authority in September 2015. 

Stance on maritime dispute

When Duterte mentioned the railroad project and China as an ideal bidder, he insisted that such a project "should not compromise the country's position on its claims over disputed territories" in the Huangyan island in the South China Sea.

"Just because you're building me the railway does not mean to say that I am abandoning the Scarborough Shoal [Huangyan island]," he was quoted as saying by Manila Bulletin.

However, Duterte said a month before that he was willing to ''shut up'' about the dispute if he becomes president, as long as China will offer to build vital transportation facilities and other infrastructure in the Philippines, ABS-CBN News reported on April 13.

"Duterte's stance on the maritime dispute is 'context-based,' and while this won't change, he is unlikely to be very tough on practical issues," said Li.

Speaking at a press conference in Palawan in April, Duterte said he is open to having a joint exploration between the Philippines and China in the disputed waters, an approach the Aquino administration has long dismissed.

"Change is what differentiates Duterte from his predecessor and that is what led him to victory, and his social and economic mission will define his presidency," Wang Haipeng, an expert on maritime and border studies at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, told the Global Times.

However, what Duterte does after the arbitration case at The Hague is decided remains uncertain, as he is also new to foreign affairs, though he was experienced in regional affairs as a local official, said Wang.

The Philippine Congress said Duterte had amassed 16,601,997 votes, almost 7 million more than second-placer Manuel Roxas, the candidate endorsed by President Benigno Aquino III, the Xinhua News Agency reported. The 71-year-old incoming president will take over from Aquino on June 30 as the country's 16th president.

Xinhua contributed to this story