China is looking forward to a bilateral settlement of the dispute in the South China Sea with new Philippine President, its envoy said on Thursday. Ambassador Zhao Jinhua expressed the hope that the new Philippine leader would be willing to sit down for bilateral talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping to address conflicting claims to the 3.5-million-square-kilometer sea. “That is our hope,” he said when asked if the next Philippine President should push for bilateral talks with China, “because China has always been open for bilateral negotiations with the Philippines.”

Torres, E. (2016, May 7). China sees bilateral deal with new PH President. Philippine Daily Inquirer, pp. A1, A18.