President Ferdinand ‘Bongbong’ Marcos Jr. on Tuesday departed to China to conduct a 3-day state visit.

During his pre-departure speech at the Villamor Air Base in Pasay City, Marcos said he will seek to strengthen the ties between the country and China by broadening the cooperation in areas including agriculture, energy, infrastructure, science and technology, and trade and investment.

“I look forward to my meeting with President Xi [Jin Ping] as we work towards shifting the trajectory of our relations to a higher gear that would hopefully bring numerous prospects and abundant opportunities for peace and development to the peoples of both our countries," he said.

Marcos said he also looks forward to discussing and resolving “political security issues of a bilateral and regional nature” with Xi Jin Ping.

At least 10 key bilateral agreements are expected to be signed during his state visit, he said.

Aside from this, the President said he will take the opportunity to invite the Chinese neighbors to return to the Philippines as tourists, students, and investors.

“I shall push for the resumption of tourism and cultural cooperation between our two countries. In Beijing, we will seek to harness the potentials of our vibrant trade and investment relations as we accelerate the post-pandemic growth of our economy,” he said.

Marcos’ state visit to China will mark his first foreign trip in 2023 and his first state visit outside the Association of the Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).