On the afternoon of May 15, 2017, Premier Li Keqiang met at the Great Hall of the People with President Rodrigo Duterte of the Philippines, who was in China for the Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation.

Li Keqiang expressed that China and the Philippines are friendly neighbors. President Xi Jinping held several successful meetings with Mr. President. China-Philippines relations stay on the track of good-neighborly friendship, which conforms to the common interests of both countries and their peoples, and also serves as the requirement of regional peace and stability. The Chinese side is willing to, together with the Philippines, enhance the alignment of development strategies, promote mutually beneficial cooperation in such fields as production capacity, infrastructure construction, finance, agriculture and fishery while expanding the scale and optimizing the structure of bilateral trade, and strengthen people-to-people and cultural exchanges and cooperation in poverty reduction, so as to enable the development of China-Philippines relations to not only better benefit the two peoples, but also propel regional peace, stability, development and prosperity.

Li Keqiang pointed out that since the establishment of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) 50 years ago, it has made important contributions to focusing on cooperation and seeking common development for countries in the region. China supports the construction of the ASEAN community as well as ASEAN's central position in regional cooperation. The Philippines is the rotating presidency of the ASEAN this year. China stands ready to reinforce coordination and cooperation with the Philippines, and jointly promote regional cooperation in East Asia for new progress with all parties, so as to build a closer China-ASEAN community of common destiny.

Rodrigo Duterte expressed that Philippines-China relations are striding forward in the right direction, and practical cooperation has achieved fruitful results. The Philippine side hopes to learn from China's experience in economic development, and carry out cooperation in a wide range of areas covering infrastructure construction, agriculture, fishery, food processing, e-commerce, science, technology, small and medium enterprises, and tourism. Supporting the Made in China 2025, the Philippines is willing to vigorously enhance production capacity cooperation, and welcomes Chinese enterprises to invest in the country. The Philippine side is ready to, together with China, write a new chapter for bilateral cooperation and jointly safeguard the peace and stability in the region.

State Councilor Yang Jing attended the meeting.