Chinese President Xi Jinping has arrived in the Philippines for a two-day state visit, amid protests and a survey showing that most Filipinos distrust China and rebuke inaction in the disputed South China Sea.
Xi's visit marks the first trip to the Philippines by a Chinese leader in 13 years, as the territorial conflict over the South China Sea marred diplomatic relations until President Rodrigo Duterte moved to repair frayed ties when he took office in 2016.
About 200 demonstrators picketed the Chinese Embassy in Manila as top government officials welcomed Xi at the airport, about 10 kilometres away.
The protesters carried placards and banners with such anti-Chinese messages as "Xi, not welcome!", "China out of Philippine waters!", "Philippines not for sale!" and "No deal! No to gas and oil exploration!"
Dozens of police officers barricaded the entrance to the building where the embassy is located, while hundreds more lined the streets from the airport to Xi's hotel in Manila.
In an arrival statement, Xi said the visit would "surely inject fresh, strong impetus into the good-neighbourly relations and friendship" between the Philippines and China.
"Given the profound and complex changes in the world, good-neighbourliness and friendship is the only right choice for China and the Philippines," he added. "China stands ready to work with the Philippines for even greater progress in our relations."
The two leaders were expected to discuss efforts to boost bilateral relations through various trade, economic and social cooperation despite the South China Sea territorial conflict.
The Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei and Taiwan have overlapping claims to the South China Sea.
In 2016, an international tribunal in the Hague ruled that Beijing has no legal or historical basis for its so-called "nine-dash line," which demarcates its claims to almost the entire South China Sea, in a case filed by the Philippines.
