China’s president will visit the Philippines for the first time in a high point of a love-hate relationship with an American treaty ally with offers of infrastructure loans and new accords to prevent clashes and possibly explore for oil and gas in the disputed South China Sea.
A red-carpet welcome awaits President Xi Jinping on Tuesday in Manila, the last stop in a three-nation swing through Asia where he’s offering infrastructure loans and aid and championing free trade in a rivalry for influence with the United States.
Continue Reading Below
Two Philippine officials tell The Associated Press that President Rodrigo Duterte’s administration will likely sign an accord to support Beijing’s “Belt and Road Initiative” loan program and but won’t immediately accede yet to proposals for oil and gas exploration in disputed waters.