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| Rodrigo Duterte (Image: Wiki Commons) |
by Sun Ding
BEIJING, June 30 (Xinhua) -- As Rodrigo Duterte takes over as Philippine president on Thursday, sparks of hope have arisen for a rapprochement between his country and China after relations soured during his predecessor's tenure.
Yet whether those sparks can turn into flames heating up bilateral relations depends on whether Duterte can translate his positive signals into concrete and effective action.
The tough-talking former mayor of Davao City in southern Philippines has pledged sweeping policy changes on both domestic and diplomatic fronts.
Since winning election, he has made a string of overtures on Philippines-China relations, signaling that mending fences with China would be a foreign policy priority. He has said that China will be the first country he visits after taking office.
Such gestures are encouraging, particularly against the backdrop of the strained bilateral relations during the presidency of Benigno Aquino III, whose government repeatedly stoked tensions over the South China Sea.
Read the full story at Xinhua