President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. welcomed the recent high-level summit between U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping, calling the face-to-face communication between the leaders of the world’s two largest economies a “very encouraging” development for global stability.
Speaking during a roundtable interview with Japanese media on Monday, May 18, Marcos emphasized that the diplomatic engagement holds immense significance for the rest of the world, particularly as the two economic superpowers observe a year-long truce in their ongoing trade war.
While noting that the long-term impact of the discussions remains to be seen, the Chief Executive stressed that direct lines of communication between Washington and Beijing are vital to fostering both geopolitical and economic stability.
”Well, I think it’s of importance to everyone when two of the largest economies in the world are meeting to discuss some of the issues that we are facing now,” Marcos said.
”So it’s hard to say what the effects of that meeting will be. However, it is always very encouraging to see when the two nations, such as China and the United States, can still come together and communicate with one another. And the two presidents can directly be communicating is extremely important,” he pointed out.
For the Philippines, Marcos explained that the benefits of an eased trade conflict extend far beyond military de-escalation, directly impacting market predictability, consumer prices, and economic resilience.
”That is very, very important for us. Again, it comes down to peace. And when I say peace now, I don’t mean just military, lack of fighting. I’m also talking about peace in terms of trade. The trade wars will diminish, and there will be more cooperation,” Marcos underscored.
The President further noted that a cooperative environment between the two economic giants stimulates healthy market competition and innovation, which ultimately rewards global consumers and strengthens developing economies.
”It’s good for our consumers. It’s good for the strength of our economy. Innovation comes in. We compete vigorously. But we must cooperate whenever we possibly can. And that for me is going to bring the synergy,” the President said, expressing hope that the Trump-Xi meeting would successfully yield such synergy and de-escalate global economic friction.
Acknowledging the deep-seated complexities of the issues dividing the United States and China, Marcos maintained an optimistic but watchful stance as the international community awaits the specific outcomes of the bilateral talks.
”I understand that it is not a simple discussion. There are issues that are very complicated and very many complicated issues that have to be discussed and that have to be agreed upon,” Marcos admitted.
”But nonetheless, it is encouraging to see that the two leaders got together. I think it was a very fruitful discussion. But we still have to see the details of what came out of it,” he added.