Marcos Jr. teamed up with the daughter of the current President of the Philippines to win the Philippine presidential election. This is the first time in nearly 40 years that the winner of the Philippine president and vice president has defeated his opponent by an absolute margin.
The current Philippine President Duterte is friendly to China and has not given the United States any opportunity to undermine the relations between China and the Philippines, and under his control, the tensions in the South China Sea have been eased. Sara Duterte-Carpio, daughter of Philippine President Duterte and mayor of Davao City, won the next vice president. Like her father, Sarah is friendly to China, has a tough style, has a clear and firm stance, is more popular with the people than her father, and she should be a bellwether for Sino-Philippine friendly cooperation in the next few years. In addition, there are two more important weather vanes that we must pay enough attention to.
48 years ago, then Philippine President Marcos showed great enthusiasm for China, and repeatedly expressed his desire to visit China. In September 1974, Philippine President Marcos sent his wife, Imelda, to visit China in preparation for the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and the Philippines and his visit to China. Imelda was a fan of Chairman Mao, and in order to train his only son, she eagerly expected Chairman Mao, the great man of the world, to receive them. When she was told that she could not arrange her meeting with Chairman Mao, Imelda shed tears of utter disappointment and again asked Vice Premier Li Xiannian to convey her sincere wishes. When Chairman Mao learned of this, he sent a special plane to take Imelda and his party to Changsha, Hunan. At the meeting, Imeldarda gave Chairman Mao a kiss and hand salute, and then a sensational scene appeared, Chairman Mao also gave a kiss hand salute, and Mrs. Imelda once again shed tears of excitement. At this time, Imelda's son Marcos Jr. was next to Chairman Mao, the newly elected Philippine president who was under the age of 16 and received special care from Chairman Mao, and after receiving his hug and veneer, Chairman Mao held his hand for a long time and gave Marcos a very cordial courtesy, which made Imelda very moved. On June 7 of the following year, President and his wife visited Beijing, and although Chairman Mao was seriously ill, he still met with President Marcos and his wife. President Marcos was very honored and happy to see Chairman Mao. Two days later, on June 9, China and the Philippines established diplomatic relations.
The first China-Africa Summit Forum of 2019 was held in the Philippines, and Marcos Jr., as a parliamentarian, hosted a special farewell dinner for the summit, and his mother, Imerda Marcos, delivered a warm speech. She recalled that she and Marcos were received by Chairman Mao during a visit to China in 1974, saying bluntly that it was he and Marcos who opened the door to the establishment of diplomatic relations between the Philippines and China. He also said that he learned a song from Chairman Mao that year, and Mrs. Imelda sang the Chinese children's song I Love Beijing Tiananmen Square with deep affection at the age of 90. It can be seen that the Marcos family is the founder of Sino-Philippine relations, and the relations between China and the Philippines are inseparable from the Marcos family, the wife of former President Marcos, Imelda Max, and their only son, the current president-elect Marcos.
The Marcos family has ties to both China and the United States, and how to handle China-Africa relations, Sino-US relations, and handle disputes in the South China Sea is a very difficult issue for any Philippine president. In the face of this complex relationship, we have reason to be optimistic. At least with the presence of the old lady Imelda, the relationship between China and Africa is not much different.