PRESIDENT Benigno Aquino 3rd called on both Philippines and China to intensify their mutual and beneficial relations for better opportunities for both nations.

The President—who arrived in Shanghai for the second leg of his five-day three-city tour of the People’s Republic of China—made the statement during the Philippine-Eastern China Business Forum at the Pudong Shangri-La Hotel on Friday morning.

In his keynote speech, the President cited the centuries-old ties between the two countries as he invited Chinese businessmen to invest in the Philippines.

“Since then, our ties have been strong and solid, and thus, enduring. It is up to us, now, to increase our mutual understanding to unleash the great potential for partnerships between yourselves and us. I would therefore like to explain the ‘why’ and the ‘how’ behind the path we have committed to achieve our vision for the Philippines,” he said.

The President added that his administration has been doing reforms to ensure a more appealing business environment for potential investors such as ridding the bureaucracy of corruption, and heavily investing in infrastructure and in the Filipino people.

“By holding the corrupt accountable, we are sending a signal to the whole world: in the Philippines, the rules are followed. In the Philippines we are open for business: the clean, fair, and honest kind,” he said.

Mr. Aquino also said that the Philippine stock markets has hit all-time highs—seven times during his administration—and that the country received four credit upgrades. On top of that, more projects are being funded without raising taxes in the past year.

He likewise expressed confidence that the positive trend his government reforms are taking “will be carried forward and onwards through our Public-Private Partnership Programs” resulting in an “increase in foreign direct investments and improved industry competitiveness.”

Spratlys dispute
But in the sensitive issue on the disputes over the West Philippine Sea (South China Sea), Malacañang said also on Friday said that matter will take more than one meeting to resolve.

This was the joint statement of President Aquino and Chinese President Hu Jintao, who both cited their respective country’s commitment to address the dispute through peaceful dialogues while maintaining regional peace, security, stability and an environment conducive to economic progress.

“We never expected to find a permanent resolution to that issue in the course of one summit meeting, it’s a complicated issue that goes years back. And what’s good here is that as countries with good relations, we are able to talk about it face-to-face, leader-to-leader. That opens up the dialogue already on that issue,” Communications Secretary Ramon Carandang told reporters.

He said that the government did not expect that both China and the Philippines will arrive at a resolution on the West Philippine Sea dispute in just one meeting, since there are other countries laying claim to part or whole of the Spratlys group of islands located in the disputed waters.

“Again, we did not expect to have a resolution to this in one meeting, and it’s not a resolution that the Philippines and China can reach on their own because there are other claimant countries [like] Vietnam, Malaysia, so it has to be done in that framework this has been an issue that has been at least since the 1980s has been contentious for many of the claimants,” Carandang added.