Chinese state councilor holds talks with Philippine foreign secretary

BEIJING, March 20 (Xinhua) -- Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi held talks with Philippine Foreign Secretary Teodoro Locsin here on Wednesday.

In his talks with Locsin, Wang said under the guidance of the leaders of China and the Philippines, the two sides continued to deepen political mutual trust and have seen fruitful results of pragmatic cooperation in the past three years.

China and the Philippines have positively explored maritime cooperation, worked together to maintain peace and stability in the South China Sea, boosted security, development and people-to-people cooperation, and made steady progress in jointly building the Belt and Road, Wang said.

Wang spoke highly of the Philippines playing the role of coordinator to enhance China-ASEAN ties and regional cooperation in East Asia.

"China is willing to work together with the Philippines and other ASEAN countries to complete consultation of the Code of Conduct in the South China Sea in three years," Wang said, adding that China is also striving to finish the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership negotiation this year.

Locsin said China and the Philippines have shared a long-time friendship and have never been rivals.

China has never interfered in other countries' internal affairs and never used its strength or advantages to pressure neighboring countries, he said, adding that the Belt and Road Initiative has boosted common development of China and other countries.

He said Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte is looking forward to attending the Second Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation to be held in Beijing next month.