Outgoing Chinese Ambassador to the Philippines Huang Xilian pays a farewell visit to Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr on September 25, 2025. Photo: the Chinese embassy in Manila

 
The outgoing Chinese Ambassador to the Philippines Huang Xilian paid a farewell visit to Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr on Thursday where both sides agreed that the South China Sea disputes should not define the China-Philippines relations, according to a press release by the Chinese embassy.  

Marcos highly appraised the positive efforts made by Ambassador Huang during his tenure to stabilize the Philippines-China relations, per the release seen on the embassy's official website.

He said that although the Philippines-China relations are facing difficulties due to the South China Sea issue at present, the two sides have managed the situation through diplomatic dialogue. 

The South China Sea issue, Marcos said, is not the whole of the Philippines-China relations, and the South China Sea disputes should not define the relations between the two countries. He added that the Philippine side is committed to managing differences with the Chinese side through dialogue and negotiation, and maintaining regional peace and stability. 

Marcos added that the Taiwan question is China's internal affairs. He noted that the Philippines is one of the first countries to recognize that there is only one China in the world and that the Government of the People's Republic of China is the sole legal government representing the whole of China, stressing that the Philippine side firmly adheres to the one-China policy. 

This year marks the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the Philippines and China. The current Philippine government will continue to promote the diplomatic relations pioneered by President Ferdinand Marcos Sr. and Chinese leaders, carry forward the friendship between the Philippines and China, and encourage more dialogue and exchanges at all levels and in all fields, especially in people-to-people and cultural exchanges and economic and trade cooperation, Marcos said. 

Photo: screenshot of the press release published on the official website of the Chinese Embassy in Manila on September 25, 2025.

Ambassador Huang thanked President Marcos and the Philippine government for the assistance provided to him during his tenure, and expressed his agreement that the South China Sea disputes should not define the China-Philippines relations. 

Huang noted that the two sides should manage differences well through dialogue and negotiation, and jointly maintain maritime peace and regional peace and stability. He added that the Taiwan question concerns China's sovereignty and territorial integrity and is entirely China's internal affair. 

The Chinese ambassador expressed hope that Manila will keep its promise, abide by the one-China principle, and handle the Taiwan question carefully and properly. 

"The 50-year history of the establishment of diplomatic ties shows that good-neighborliness and friendship conform to the fundamental interests of the two countries and their people, and reflect the mainstream public opinion and common aspiration of the two peoples," Huang said. 

He hopes that the Philippine side will work toward the same goal as the Chinese side and promote the early return of the China-Philippines relations to the right track.

Huang was born in September 1967. He has previously served as Counselor at the Chinese Embassy in the US, Counselor at the Chinese Embassy in Pakistan, and Counselor at the Department of Asian Affairs of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. In 2014, he was appointed Deputy Director-General of the Department of Asian Affairs of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs; in 2018, he took up the post of Chinese Ambassador to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN); and in 2019, he became Chinese Ambassador to the Philippines.

Global Times