"Highly successful," ang pagbisita ni Pangulong Duterte sa China nitong nakaraang linggo, ayon sa Malacañang, binanggit ang halaga ng mga napagkasunduang negosyo at investments at grants na naiuwi ng Pangulo mula sa kanyang ikaapat na pagbisita sa nasabing bansa.

Ito ang ipinahayag ni Presidential Spokesperson Salvador Panelo nang tapusin ni Duterte ang kanyang Beijing trip sa pagdalo niya sa ikalawang Belt and Road Forum. Umuwi sa 'Pinas si Duterte nitong Sabado ng gabi.

"The Palace is pleased to announce that President Rodrigo Roa Duterte had a highly successful official visit to China," sinabi ni Panelo sa isang pahayag Linggo ng umaga.

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"In this latest visit, the Chief Executive witnessed the signing of 19 business agreements, covering a wide range of areas of investments such as in energy, infrastructure that includes tourism related facilities and internet connectivity, agriculture and training of Filipinos sojourning in China, to name a few," dagdag niya.

Ang investment value ng nasabing kasunduan ay tinatayang US$12.165 billion, na inaasahang maglilikha ng mahigit 21,000 trabaho para sa mga Pinoy.

Samantala, sinabi ni Duterte na dapat sanayin ng Pilipinas at China ang "restraint and caution" upang maiwasan ang tensiyon sa South China Sea.

Isinusulong ng Pangulo ang kapayapaan at stability sa pinag-aagawang isla matapos na magpahayag ng alalahanin ang Pilipinas sa West Philippines Sea nang makausap niya nang masinsinan si Xi sa Great Hall of the People nitong Huwebes.

"President Duterte reiterated to President Xi his resolve to endeavour to make the South China Sea a sea of peace, stability and prosperity," ayon kay Presidential Spokesman Salvador Panelo.

"He expounded the need for both countries to exercise restraint and caution to avoid actions that could complicate situations,” dagdag ni Panelo.

Sa sidelines ng Belt and Road summit, nagkasundo sina Duterte at Xi na resolbahin ang isyu sa South China Sea sa pamamagitan ng patuloy na bilateral negotiations. Nagkasundo rin ang dalawang leader na ipagpatuloy ang economic at security cooperation sa kabila ng territorial conflict.

“Both agree that the situation can be managed by the mechanism of bilateral negotiations, but it should not affect the cooperation being undertaken by both the Philippines and China," sabi ni Panelo.

Kaugnay nito, kailangan ng Philippine navy na magkaroon ng warships upang guwardiyahan ang 200-mile exclusive economic zone (EEZ) sa West Philippine Sea (WPS).

"This is why we are having difficulty enforcing our sovereign rights over our EEZ there,” sabi ni Surigao del Sur 2nd district Rep. Johnny Pimentel, idinagdag na "our naval warfare service should at least be as formidable as Indonesia’s, which has three fleets of larger and faster ships, including submarines."