Beijing Makes Clear That Interests in S China Sea are ‘Not a Bargaining Chip’
SputnikNews.com
26.02.2017
Beijing has indicated that it is not ready to change its stance on the South China Sea as a prerequisite to improve its relations with the Philippines and increase its influence in Southeast Asia, political analyst Elena Fomicheva told Sputnik China, commenting on Commerce Minister Gao Hucheng cancelling his visit to Manila.
“China has obviously made it clear that although it is a positive thing that the Philippines wants to develop bilateral relations and trade, Beijing will not consider its interests in the South China Sea to be a bargaining chip,” Fomicheva, an expert at the Institute for Eastern Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences, said.
Earlier this week, China abruptly postponed a visit of its Commerce Minister Gao Hucheng to the Philippines. The official was supposed to sign approximately 40 bilateral deals worth billions of dollars as relations between two former rivals have become increasingly warm.
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