How Duterte conquered Beijing with his maverick style & bold diplomacy
BEIJING, China — In all the state or official visits that I joined of Presidents Fidel V. Ramos, Joseph Estrada, Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, Noynoy C. Aquino and now Rody R. Duterte, I have never seen a larger business delegation, or as much global media buzz, or a grander welcome for our head of state than Duterte’s on Oct. 18 to 21 in China. Duterte’s visit has successfully restored and normalized our longstanding bilateral ties.
Duterte in blue jeans & delivers fiery extemporaneous speeches
Except for the grand welcome rites, state banquet dinner and top-level meetings where he wore a coat and tie, the folksy and egalitarian Duterte disarmed crowds in Beijing by wearing rugged blue jeans going to meetings or when he just walked out of the hotel with his entourage and with China envoy Zhao Jianhua — greeting surprised well-wishers on Wangfujing Street on his way to a late lunch 200 meters away at Dadong Roast Duck Restaurant.
Everywhere I went with businessmen and politicos, whenever Beijing folks asked where we’re from and they heard “Philippines,” locals would smile and say we’re their good friends.
In a seeming break with tradition, Duterte chose to stay in a hotel in the city center rather than at the Diaoyutai State Guesthouse, which usually hosts visiting presidents and monarchs. Unlike other visiting foreign heads of state, I noticed Duterte also skipped ceremonial tourist photo-op visits to the Great Wall and the ancient Forbidden City palace complex but devoted his schedule to mostly economics-focused bilateral meetings.
On this trip, I better understood how an underdog Davao Mayor won the last presidential election. On three occasions to different audiences, I witnessed Duterte discard prepared speeches to deliver rambling, yet eloquent and passionate, extemporaneous speeches. He discusses history in a sweep and he’s also good at storytelling.
While foreign media highlighted his criticisms of US policies like lecturing other countries or what Duterte decried as their “human rights violations” in Iraq, Libya to Syria, most of his speeches dwelled more on his dream of eradicating illegal drugs, corruption and poverty.
Biggest Philippine business delegation ever of over 500 members
Sources said from only 100, the list of top business people wanting to be part of Duterte’s fence-mending diplomatic mission to the world’s largest market of 1.4 billion people and also the second largest economy, this roster kept on growing. Many media erroneously reported “at least 200” people joined the business delegation, it was actually a record-breaking 500 plus.
I also met two self-made tycoons from Fujian province who each donated a huge drug rehab center to the Philippines — Huang Rulun, who once did trading in Manila for five years, and Xu Mingliang, who told me that his late grandfather lived in the Philippines in the 1920s.
Among the business leaders on the list included SM Group’s Hans Sy and Jeffrey Lim, Ayala Group’s Fernando Zobel de Ayala with top executives Ayala Land CEO Bobby Dy and Globe Telecom president Ernest Cu, ICTSI boss Enrique “Ricky” Razon, Jr. and his nephew SVP Christian R. Gonzales, Philippine Airlines boss Lucio C. Tan and his son Michael “Mike” Tan (honorary chairman of Anvil Business Club which had several delegates on this trip), Megaworld/Emperador founder Andrew Tan and his son SVP Kevin Tan, San Miguel Corp. boss Ramon Ang, Zesto/RC Cola boss Alfredo “Fred” Yao, presidential adviser Joey Concepcion of RFM and GoNegosyo, Dr. Francis Chua and George Barcelon of PCCI, Sabin Aboitiz, JG Summit’s Lance Gokongwei and his cousin Robinsons Land president Frederick Go, Filinvest Group leaders Josephine Gotianun Yap and husband Joseph Yap, Carlos Chan of Oishi/Liwayway, realty tycoon Manny Villar and his son DPWH Secretary Mark Villar, Angel Ngu and Jimmy Tang of the FFCCCII, Dr. James Dy of Chinese General Hospital, Jollibee Group boss Tony Tan Caktiong who was always with his business partner DoubleDragons’ Edgar “Injap” Sia, FFCCCII vice-president Domingo Yap and his son Congressman Arthur Yap (who I heard might be appointed to a top cabinet post), Solid Group/MyPhone’s Joseph Lim (whose family years ago once hosted now China President Xi Jinping in Manila when he was still a young government official), STI boss Eusebio “Yosi” Tanco, Cavitex Holdings CEO Luis Juan Virata and son VP Leonides Virata (both of whom speak fluent Mandarin), etc.
A big group of Davao tycoons joined this state visit, which included two businessmen who are reportedly longtime friends of President Duterte, mall tycoon James Gaisano and Davao Farm Corp. boss Samuel “Sammy” Uy (who was given special mention in Duterte’s Oct. 20 speech before businessmen, that he used to watch betamax movies for free at Uy’s home).
On this trip, I witnessed the Philippines’ tycoons like Sabin Aboitiz, Lance Gokongwei, Tony Tan Caktiong, Injap Sia and others just standing throughout the SRO (standing room only) and much-applauded speech of President Duterte on Oct. 19 at the Grand Hyatt Hotel Beijing before the Filipino community.
Business leaders joined OFWs in using smart phones to take pictures or videos of Duterte and even his Philippine National Police (PNP) Director General Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa, who were like rock stars.
At the start of the event, Lance Gokongwei laughingly remarked to me he was surprised when the crowd of OFWs stood and shouted upon his entering the hotel ballroom, only to realize that it wasn’t him they were cheering and taking photos of but the charismatic police chief Bato!
Grand welcome & state banquet, $24 billion funding & investment pledges
International media, such as Reuters, reported: “Red carpet welcome… China has pulled out all the stops to welcome Duterte, including a marching band complete with baton-twirling band master at his official greeting ceremony outside the Great Hall of the People, which is not extended to most leaders.”
At the state banquet hosted by China President Xi Jinping for President Duterte and his delegation at the Golden Hall inside the Great Hall of the People on Oct. 20, it seemed the hosts adjusted to the maverick style of Duterte by having no speeches and no toasts, just the most exquisite Chinese food and a mini-concert of diverse, beautiful music.
Among the VIPs who paid their respects and welcomed Duterte at the banquet was China’s sports legend who was just inducted into the NBA Hall of Fame in September, Yao Ming.
Bloomberg reported on the last day of Duterte’s state visit: “Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte will bring home $24 billion worth of funding and investment pledges from his four-day visit to China as both nations agreed to resume talks and explore areas of cooperation in the South China Sea.”
New York Times reported: “The Philippines’ trade secretary, Ramon Lopez, said that China had agreed to spend $15 billion on projects to help achieve the biggest infrastructure boom in the Philippines since the authoritarian rule of President Ferdinand Marcos.”
“China is not only a friend. China is not only a relative, but China is a big brother,” Communications Secretary Martin Andanar said.
At the investment forum before President Duterte’s headline-grabbing speech announcing military “separation” from our Cold War-era military treaty ally USA, I heard Vice-Premier Zhang Gaoli mentioned in his speech that some people “were in tears” in this state visit, because they were very touched at the restoration of the ancient friendly ties of over a thousand years between the Philippines and China.
President Xi Jinping described Duterte’s visit as a “milestone” and he told Duterte that China and the Philippines were brothers.
President Rody Duterte said: “Even as we arrived in Beijing close to winter, this is the springtime of our relationship… China has been a friend of the Philippines and the roots of our bonds are very deep and not easily severed.”
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